Anthony Joshua weighs in 19lbs heavier than Oleksandr Usyk ahead of their heavyweight title fight... with the Briton stepping on the scales at 240lbs while his challenger reaches a career-high 221.25lbs

• Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk have weighed in for their heavyweight fight
• Joshua tipped the scales at 240lbs in his bid to keep his WBO, IBF and WBO titles
• Mandatory challenger Usyk has reached a career-high of 221.25lbs for the bout 
• Both fighters also flexed their muscles in an event that passed without incident 

Anthony Joshua hit the scales for his world heavyweight championship defence against Olexsandr Usyk at the same 17st 2lb he weighed when he beat Kubrat Pulev nine months ago.

That gives Britain’s holder of the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles an advantage of almost a stone-and-a-half over his undefeated challenger. At 15st 11lb, Ukraine’s former undisputed cruiserweight champion will be at his heaviest ever in this, his third venture up to heavyweight.

Joshua’s weight suggests he intends to exploit his size on Saturday in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That resonates with AJ’s promise to deliver a ‘lot of excitement and hopefully a knockout’ to the 68,000 crowd ‘for coming out to see me in British boxing’s first big stadium fight since the pandemic’.

A victory should bring on next spring his seemingly forever awaited mega-fight against Tyson Fury. Two Fury fights could be worth £100million to each. 

Joshua and Usyk have reportedly settled for £15m and £8m respectively for Saturday's fight.   

 The lead-up to the showdown in London has seen experts voice their opinions over Joshua's leaner shape, but he will be heavier by more than a stone against Usyk.

Usyk, the former undisputed world cruiserweight champion, increased on the 199.5lbs from his debut at heavyweight and the 217lbs for his triumph over Derek Chisora.

In his attempt to stun the crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and rock Joshua, the 34-year-old has been visibly piling on muscle in recent months.

Both fighters shared an intense stare down the day before they take to the ring, before Joshua accepted Usyk's handshake and the two men smiled.

In front of the media and a small crowd at the O2 Arena in the capital, they took it in turns to flex their muscles, with Joshua amicably handing over to his challenger. 

Joshua also holds advantages in height and reach and is the favourite among bookmakers - although the bout is still expected to be a stern test.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Watford-born titan hinted at what his game-plan may entail, and plans to outmuscle Usyk. 

'I can out-box him, of course I can,' Joshua said. 'And I can out-strength him.

'You have to have a bit of aggression, boxing skill, head movement. There is not just one factor that determines a fight.

'Obviously we have our go-to, our strength. I will use my strengths.

'But it's called a boxing match for a reason. I love the sweet science. I will display my boxing skills, but I won't make it too complicated in there.'

He has also insisted that he will attempt to knockout the wily Ukrainian, but will be equally prepared for a lengthy slugfest. 

'You always aim to prepare for a 12-round fight but hope to cut it short - you aim to knock people out,' Joshua added.

'You learn where their strengths are, where their weaknesses are. He has good stamina. So we work around, not just losing weight, but rounds of sparring and rounds on the heavy bag to generate good stamina.

'We build boxing memory in our muscles so they don't get fatigued when they are exploding on the opponent's body and face.'