The pair are set to meet on August 20 in Saudi Arabia and many see this as a crossroads fight for Joshua. 

Win and he could tempt WBC champion Tyson Fury out of 'retirement' for an undisputed clash, but if he loses, it will be a long road back to the top of the heavyweight ladder. 

Ak and Barak debated the implications the result of this fight could have on Joshua on The DAZN Boxing Show, and Ak believes AJ will have to be pushed to his limits if he is to beat Usyk. 

"Remember this is boxing, this is the heavyweight division and Anthony Joshua is a heavy man, and a heavy hitting heavyweight," Ak began. 

"Oleksandr Usyk himself talked about the first fight and getting hit with that right hand, and he said he went to the moon and back.

"He was hurt, in other words Anthony Joshua can hurt that man and he wasn’t that offensive, he was a bit timid with certain shots.

"Obviously, he’s going to have to go through some fire with a guy like Oleksandr Usyk who is very skilled from the southpaw stance, not to mention he looks in shape.

"He [Joshua] has to overpower the smaller man."

While some may think that Joshua's career is over if he fails to beat Usyk, Barak believes the former two-time world heavyweight champion still has plenty of options when it comes to his exploits inside the ring. 

"This fight is extremely important for Anthony Joshua, I don’t think it’s all or nothing though," Barak said. 

"Even if he loses again, there’s a way back for Anthony Joshua, he’s still young, he still has an incredible fanbase and there’s still more to learn no matter what.

"Usyk is going to be a tough task, but I do think a confident AJ can overwhelm Usyk because he’s just that much bigger."