DAVID HAYE reckons Anthony Joshua could retire if he cannot wrestle his heavyweight world titles back from Oleksandr Usyk.
The 41-year-old Hayemaker watched in horror as AJ employed a nightmare gameplan against the southpaw genius in Tottenham last September, surrendering his WBA, IBF and WBO belts on a unanimous decision.
The former cruiser and heavyweight king believes the 6ft 6in 32-year-old powerhouse still has all the physical attributes to get rematch revenge on August 20 in Saudi Arabia.
But he fears a second consecutive loss could spell the end for the London 2012 icon, despite him recently signing a new long-term deal with sports streaming service DAZN.
Haye said: “If he doesn’t win, I am not sure he wants to be in a sport where he knows he is not the best.
“He got out-hustled by someone he knows he can beat and if – he does everything right and Usyk still beats him – I don’t know if there is anything else for him to do in the sport.
“He is such a winner that I don’t know what he does next, if he loses again.
“He believes he has all the physical abilities to beat Usyk, so do I, so with the right plan he can get the victory.”
Team GB mentor Rob McCracken seems to have taken the bullet for the comprehensive points loss, despite AJ admitting it was his own plan to try outboxing the master technician.
Mexican-American Robert Garcia – celebrated for his high-pressure fighting style – has been brought in to help take the fight to the 35-year-old Ukraine icon the second time around, despite all his success coming at weights almost half of AJ’s size.
