Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder each on hard-hitting MMA champion’s radar

Anatoly Malykhin, a two-division ONE world champion, has expressed his curiosity in MMA-boxing crossover fights in opposition to huge names like Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, and Oleksandr Usyk. The 36-year-old Russian, identified for his hard-hitting type in MMA, is raring to deliver his energy to the boxing ring. 

“If I can be an official representative of ONE Championship, and if Mr. Chatri [Sityodtong] allows me to, I’d venture into boxing,” Malykhin advised the South China Morning Post. “Two boxers I’d like to face are Anthony Joshua, a good fight, and Oleksandr Usyk, another good fight. Deontay Wilder will be another good fight for me. His one-punch KO power, and my one-punch KO power, will be nice.”

Meanwhile, former two-time world heavyweight champion Joshua is getting ready for a crossover struggle of his personal. He’s set to face ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who almost defeated the undefeated Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia final 12 months. Joshua and Ngannou are scheduled to satisfy subsequent month in one other high-profile Saudi struggle.

The unified heavyweight champion, Usyk, has had his struggle in opposition to Fury postponed till May because of Fury struggling a extreme minimize throughout coaching. This delay signifies that the undisputed heavyweight champion shall be topped later than anticipated.

Meanwhile, Malykhin appears most desperate to face Wilder, who shares comparable damaging talents. However, Wilder suffered a convincing defeat to Joseph Parker final 12 months, leaving the previous world champion at an important level in his profession.

Wilder attributed a part of his loss to the in depth journey he needed to undertake. “It was a boring fight, nothing really happened,” Wilder advised ESNews. “I went right back to training the next day. He really didn’t do anything, they just went off the little flurries or whatever.

“In preparation for that, I needed to journey twice, totalling 20 hours of journey. And these guys have been already in Europe, they have been solely two or three hours away. I’m not complaining, I’m simply stating what I needed to undergo.”

The Bronze Bomber further added: “Camp-wise, we have been ready for all the things. Sparring went properly, we did not get as a lot sparring as we needed inside the timeframe we had, however we obtained some good sparring in.

“And the sessions that we did have were good, but when I got into the actual ring it was a bit difficult for me to pull the trigger as people saw. My timing was very off, I would return to the ring and think, ‘Damn, why can’t I pull the trigger? What the f***?’ I had those moments, but it’s okay.

“I’m glad I obtained to expertise a variety of issues that is it in boxing. Plenty of issues I needed to undergo that I by no means thought I’d should expertise in life. But typically it is like that.”