"[Campbell] is very good at that jab, very good at that right hook to the body and I think after rounds that takes a lot of wind and gas out of a fighter"
Friday 30 August 2019 12:32, UK
Anthony Joshua has encouraged Luke Campbell to “seize the moment” against Vasiliy Lomachenko as their world lightweight title fight draws nearer.
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Lomachenko and Campbell contest the WBA, WBC and WBO belts on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports Box Office, and Joshua has warned his fellow Brit to "keep your mind sharp".
Joshua said: "Go in there and start saying affirmations to yourself - 'I am the greatest, I'm the champion, I can beat Lomachenko'.
"Just come to three words that you tell yourself every minute of every day so you start believing it.
"You have to really believe it. I'm talking about my own experience, you have to believe who you are and what you are able to achieve.
"Lomachenko wants to put you in a position where you're going to act and do things that aren't comfortable to you.
"So little feints where he'll jump at you. He's going to feint, he's going to move at an angle. Don't fall into the trap, just keep a good guard, keep your mind sharp and then as the rounds go on, stick to your game plan.
"Touch to the body, feint to the body, jab to the head and if you can start setting up certain shots as they start to land then build on that as the rounds go on because it's a 12-round fight. It's a marathon not a sprint.
"If he goes in there with that right mindset and takes his opportunity and seizes the moment he can go down in history."
Joshua and Campbell each won an Olympic gold medal at London 2012 for Great Britain, and Lomachenko also won the top prize in the capital for Ukraine.
"I wouldn't say it's so much a physical task because Luke is very dangly, he's southpaw, he's an Olympic gold medallist, so physically he knows what he's doing," Joshua said.
"I think it's a mental thing because he's very good at that jab, very good at that right hook to the body and I think after rounds that takes a lot of wind and gas out of a fighter.
"Lomachenko is the crème-de-la-crème and Luke knows that. I know that and I'm not going to sit here and lie to you and say he's not."
Watch Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Luke Campbell on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, from 6pm. Book it via your Sky remote or book it online here. Even if you aren't a Sky TV subscriber you can book and watch it here.
