In a surprising twist that's shaking up the heavyweight division, unified champion Oleksandr Usyk is betting on Anthony Joshua to defeat Tyson Fury—and he's actively helping "AJ" craft the game plan to make it happen.

Joshua, set to return to the ring on July 25th against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has already signed a deal to face long-time rival Fury later this year. But what's turning heads is his training camp: the British star has been working closely with former opponent Usyk, spending time with the two-time undisputed champion in both Spain and Ukraine.

"In my opinion, AJ wins against Fury," Usyk told BBC Sport. "Fury is an unbelievable fighter and a very dangerous guy, but I look at how Anthony works and how he has changed."

The undefeated Ukrainian, who has beaten both Joshua and Fury, added a personal touch: "I like Fury—he is my greedy belly best friend, he's an amazing fighter—but I want Anthony to win. He deserves it."

Usyk, who views Joshua's upcoming bout with Prenga as "official sparring," doesn't foresee any issues for the former champion. Instead, his focus is on the bigger prize. "We speak about strategy, boxing skills, and psychology," Usyk explained. "We speak about fights, our fights, and I say, 'Champ, come on, don't stop.'"

The timing couldn't be more significant. Joshua's last outing was a routine win over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December, but he's since taken time away from the sport to recover mentally and physically after surviving a fatal car crash that killed two of his friends. Usyk, who has lost friends during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, offered words of empathy: "I said, 'Listen, God gave you one more chance. Take this chance and don't waste it.'"

With Usyk preparing to defend his WBC title against Rico Verhoeven on May 23rd in Egypt, the Ukrainian champion will welcome Joshua into his camp in the coming weeks. It's an alliance that could reshape the heavyweight landscape—and give Joshua the blueprint he needs to finally conquer Fury.