ANTHONY JOSHUA is "showing serious intentions" by arriving in Saudi Arabia a MONTH early for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.

The pair fight once again on August 20 in Jeddah, almost a year since Usyk won the unified titles in London.

The Ukrainian pound-for-pound star has been in Dubai for his training camp, sparring the likes of Martin Bakole.

But now AJ has also made the trip over to the Middle East, a decision hailed by former cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson.

And the retired boxer-turned pundit likened it to Muhammad Ali's famous Rumble in The Jungle fight in Zaire.

Nelson told Sky Sports: "I remember when Ali did it when he was fighting George Foreman in the jungle, he was there for longer than he expected to be.

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"I think, this one here, AJ has gone out there thinking he's got to do it right. I'm sure he's taken his team out, his sparring partners out there.

"It's the best thing to do, just to get used to the heat. He's got to do everything in his favour, and I like the thinking behind it.

"We can read into so many things, but it shows serious intentions, he's out there on business, which is a must."

Joshua, 32, suffered defeat for the first time in June 2019 against underdog Andy Ruiz Jr, 32.

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But he travelled to Saudi six months later to box and move his way back to the belts by winning the rematch over 12 rounds.

However, those same tactics proved unsuccessful against Usyk, 35, who stunned AJ on points.

And it leaves Nelson predicting the pair will both come with new game plans in order to outwit one another.

He said: "It's not an impossible ask for AJ to get the win.

"He has the ability, he has the tools to do it. He's just got to make sure he chooses the right tactics.

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"Both fighters have had the grace of sharing the ring and knowing what each other's strengths and weaknesses are.

"Usyk might think about putting the pressure on a bit earlier because he almost had AJ out in the first fight.

"AJ might think about playing Usyk at his own game and putting Usyk under pressure from off, going for broke.

"Neither man is going to go in there with the same tactics they did in the first place, because for Usyk he wants to make sure, he wants to make it clear after the first fight went the distance.

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"He'll want to finish him off. For AJ, he'll want to go in there and get him out of there, because he knows as the fight goes on it favours Usyk the most.

"He just can't afford to let this man feel comfortable in his presence, in his environment, in his company."

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