Evander Holyfield has advised Anthony Joshua to get himself good sparring partners for his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr in December.
Ruiz Jr shocked the world in June when he beat Joshua at Madison Square Garden to win the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles.
The pair meet again in Saudi Arabia on December 7 with Joshua being given an immediate chance to win back his belts.
AJ’s preference was to hold the fight in Cardiff but Ruiz insisted he would not travel to Britain – and an offer from Saudi Arabia proved too good to turn down.
Joshua looked far from his best in the first fight but offered no excuses after seeing his unbeaten record disappear.
Holyfield is regarded as one of the best boxers ever after reigning as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
And the American thinks that Joshua has to make some adjustments for the rematch with Ruiz Jr, insisting that finding the right sparring partners is vital.
“Of course he knows he has got to make some adjustments,” Holyfield told iFL TV when asked what advice he would give AJ for the rematch.
“Me personally, I kind of thought that Ruiz kept cornering him off so what has he got to do?
“He has got to get somebody who is going to put the pressure on him like that.
“When you are the champ you have got to get a sparring partner that will put pressure on you.
“There is no point in getting a sparring partner who looks at you and knows they haven’t got a chance of being you.
“You got to have a guy that for three rounds is going to try to whoop ya and then you gotta have another guy who is trying to do the same.
“I had a lot of different sparring partners andI payed them good to try and beat me and this is the only way you are going to be prepared for the fight.”
Tyson Fury has offered his prediction for the fight and says it could go either way but hopes Joshua wins.
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