Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk - 25 September 2021

[Bard of Boxrec]

AJ will just box behind his jab at a comfortable pace and pick the guy off. Usyk will be discouraged to come in and will get increasingly negative as the fight goes on. Could easily see a late stoppage without any gassing issues whatsoever. And you can tell by the Chisora fight that Usyk’s pop at HW is nonexistent. He won’t be troubling AJ there at all.

[TheGman]

AJ by ko,too big too strong for usyk imo

[Autobarn]

As fashionable as it seems to be to predict Usyk, AJ by late stoppage. Usyk won’t make a dent and will have to use a lot of energy staying away while also absorbing murderous shots the like of which he won’t have seen. He might win two or three rounds though.

I agree, but will give Usyk huge credit if he somehow puts on some kind of Calzaghe-Lacy calibre performance.

And even if he does, I think he’ll lose the title fairly soon after as he’s not really made for heavyweight.

[a force]

I don’t see how the Chisora fight shows us anything about how AJ can win this fight. He can’t fight like Chisora does, if Joshua fights at that tempo for a round never mind 3 he’ll be gassed. He fights in bursts & the problem he’s got is Usyk’s very hard to hit clean & if you do hit him clean it’s very hard to tag him clean again as he gets on his bike.

He’s got to be precise & patient. He’s got to be a bit like Bellew was in the early rounds but he needs to try & limit the amount of energy he uses & stop Usyk dictating the pace.

I think it’ll be a boring for the casual fight early on. Joshua will be trying to time Usyk & Usyk will be trying to do enough work to tire Joshua & make him uncomfortable but at the same time not to get caught flush often.

Make no mistake Usyk can hurt Joshua. It seems to be held against him that he didn’t stop Chisora. By my reckoning there’s only Haye, Whyte after 23 rounds who have buzzed & hurt Chisora in his whole career worse than Usyk did in round 7 & he’s been in with Fury twice, Helenius, Parker, Takam, Vitali, Kabayel etc.

I think Usyk dictates the pace & stops Joshua late more based on fatigue than any chin issues. Even in his last fight Joshua got carried away & gassed a bit for a couple of the middle rounds but Pulev couldn’t take advantage.

I can see how Joshua can win the fight but he’s got to be more disciplined than he’s ever shown before & he’s got to be more accurate than he’s ever been before. He probably has to hurt Usyk with single shots so when he throws he’s going to have to put lots into the shots but at the same time he has to be careful with his output so he doesn’t gas.

[Bard of Boxrec]

No one thinks the blueprint for AJ to beat Usyk is fighting like chisora.

Also all this talk of AJ gassing is silly, he hasn’t got the best engine out there but he isn’t gassing against a guy he can comfortably keep at range who isn’t going to be pressuring him with heavy shots and ploughing forward constantly like Ruiz did.

Usyk will try and fiddle his way through with his flyswatter and nick it on the back foot , the problem he has is AJ will hurt him and make him reluctant to maintain a work rate lest he opens himself up

[Autobarn]

Usyk will have to move in, land, move out, continually. He is unlikely to win on the back foot due to beating out reached, and he’ll be unlikely to back up Joshua.

Nothing short of a masterclass will due it for him, and this will require huge amounts of energy. But if he can do it, fair bloody play.

[skanksta]

I don’t see how the Chisora fight shows us anything about how AJ can win this fight. He can’t fight like Chisora does, if Joshua fights at that tempo for a round never mind 3 he’ll be gassed. He fights in bursts & the problem he’s got is Usyk’s very hard to hit clean & if you do hit him clean it’s very hard to tag him clean again as he gets on his bike.

He’s got to be precise & patient. He’s got to be a bit like Bellew was in the early rounds but he needs to try & limit the amount of energy he uses & stop Usyk dictating the pace.

I think it’ll be a boring for the casual fight early on. Joshua will be trying to time Usyk & Usyk will be trying to do enough work to tire Joshua & make him uncomfortable but at the same time not to get caught flush often.

Make no mistake Usyk can hurt Joshua. It seems to be held against him that he didn’t stop Chisora. By my reckoning there’s only Haye, Whyte after 23 rounds who have buzzed & hurt Chisora in his whole career worse than Usyk did in round 7 & he’s been in with Fury twice, Helenius, Parker, Takam, Vitali, Kabayel etc.

I think Usyk dictates the pace & stops Joshua late more based on fatigue than any chin issues. Even in his last fight Joshua got carried away & gassed a bit for a couple of the middle rounds but Pulev couldn’t take advantage.

I can see how Joshua can win the fight but he’s got to be more disciplined than he’s ever shown before & he’s got to be more accurate than he’s ever been before. He probably has to hurt Usyk with single shots so when he throws he’s going to have to put lots into the shots but at the same time he has to be careful with his output so he doesn’t gas.

Second one is a very good point, the first isn't at all.

As has been said, AJ might not have the best engine, but it's not like it's a serious weakness. You make him sound like Pricey.

[cormack]

we still have no announcement for AJ V Usyk or whoever , I am starting to wonder if its really not going to be Usyk after all ...

[Bard of Boxrec]

Usyk will have to move in, land, move out, continually. He is unlikely to win on the back foot due to beating out reached, and he’ll be unlikely to back up Joshua.

Nothing short of a masterclass will due it for him, and this will require huge amounts of energy. But if he can do it, fair bloody play.

Yeah I just meant he’ll be on the move for the whole time but he will of course have to come in range to land his shots, AJ has a great uppercut and I wonder if this could be a key weapon as Usyk comes in

[gregregegg]

All these theory’s are going to go to waste when aj ducks usyk...

[KiwiRider]

All these theory’s are going to go to waste when aj ducks usyk...

Nah man, he wouldn’t drop the belt unless something drastic happens. Its been all about the belts all along with AJ.
I suspect most pundits would give AJ odds on to beat Uysk.

[gregregegg]

All these theory’s are going to go to waste when aj ducks usyk...

Nah man, he wouldn’t drop the belt unless something drastic happens. Its been all about the belts all along with AJ.
I suspect most pundits would give AJ odds on to beat Uysk.

Look it’s the clear fight and aj is clear favourite and usyk has done good ppv numbers befor and the belt.... but I just am very sus on Eddie being horny for Ruiz 3... pray it’s just negotiating tactics...

[gregregegg]

Frank on ifltv... never actualy points blaim but passively floats ideas to muddy the waters. These include.
-the possibility that the arbitrator didn’t like Eddie anouncing the fight so much so ruled against him out of spite...
-usyk was threatening to sue if not next and so AJs obligations were an equally responsible for stoping the fight...
-wilder said he wanted the fight so there was no point offering step aside money he had made up his mind....
-claims nothing was signed, while acknowledging that the fact arbitration was ongoing was in the signed contract...

Eddie is a cock, but frank lives in fantasy world.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Team Usyk: No Visible Obstacles To Prevent a Deal To Fight Joshua

The team behind former undisputed cruiserweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk are confident that a deal will get finalized for a mandatory fight with IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

Usyk's handlers see "no visible obstacles" to reaching an agreement in the coming days.

At the moment Hearn is negotiating the details with Usyk's handlers.

"We are in the middle of negotiations now and things look optimistic," Usyk's promoter Alexander Krassyuk told Sky Sports.

"As long as I am informed there are no visible obstacles to the deal not [taking] place, hopefully, it will be completed within the rendered timing."

[Ruthless-RKO]

Anthony Joshua may vacate his WBO title says Eddie Hearn

“We negotiate all the time with people who sometimes aren’t entitled to a fight, and we got it again now,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social. “The WBO straightaway sent a little in, ‘You’re now fighting him.’

“At some point, you want to turn around and say, ‘You know what? Why can’t we just breathe and do our own thing, but of course, he [Joshua] wants to be undisputed, and that’s why we’re considering our options.

“I think the most likely scenario is, we fight Oleksander Usyk. If the deal is right and every one is sensible, yes, I think that fight happens.

“But I’ll tell you something right now. AJ is not in the mood, nor am I to be told what to do by governing bodies right now. There is no guarantee for an undisputed fight right now.

“What are we holding onto a belt right now for? Promises, dreams, whatever. But he [Joshua] respects his belts, and he wants to honor his belts, and he’s done that for the last four years. So that’s the likely scenario,” said Hearn.

Joshua could vacate the WBO title

“All the other names [Andy Ruiz Jr, Luis Ortiz, and Dillian Whyte] are in play, and we will do now what’s right for AJ and no one else,” said Hearn. “We’re very close.

“I’ve got a couple of fights ready to go [for Joshua],” Hearn said when asked how much time he has before he thinks he can have Joshua’s next fight dialed down.

“But I am speaking to Alex Krassyuk [Usyk’s manager]. That is our preference. That is the fight that I think is most likely.

“But again, it’s got to be right. If the belt goes, the belt goes. In an ideal world, we keep the belt; we always want to keep the belt. But we’ll see what happens,” said Hearn.

[margaret thatcher]

he wont vacate to get off the usyk fight, he'll fight usyk most likely

[Ruthless-RKO]

he wont vacate to get off the usyk fight, he'll fight usyk most likely

Hearn has always said we won't let belts get in the way, he'll keep saying it, but Fury has to fight Wilder..

This is just a tactic he uses.

[Twinkle Toes]

I don't think Hearn fancies the Usyk match - Quite rightly, Usyk is by far the danger man of the division who many on here think not only beats Joshua but would give Fury a difficult fight.

It's a big feather in Joshua's cap if he takes on beats Usyk then takes on Fury or Wilder.

[dbf]

Laughable that Hearn said in an interview yesterday that Povetkin was at his peak when Joshua fought him!

So much spin its insane. He won his first title against Charle Martin, defended against Brezeale and Molina (who Hearn seems to conveniently leave out of the narrative), then fought Wlad (semi retired, 18 month layoff coming of a loss and 40!) Takam and Parker (hasn't done much since - struggled with Chisora), Povetkin (over the hill, don't let one punch against Whyte change that), and Ruiz x2 (who at the time of the first fight was seen as an easier fight than Miller) and n ancient inactive Pulev. It is not the murderers row that Hearn would have you believe. Not at all.

If AJ ditches the WBO and fights Ruiz or Ortiz (who actually wants to see that?) then he/his team are seriously lacking some confidence. Maybe Fury was a cash out fight for him?

[maverick23]

Laughable that Hearn said in an interview yesterday that Povetkin was at his peak when Joshua fought him!

So much spin its insane. He won his first title against Charle Martin, defended against Brezeale and Molina (who Hearn seems to conveniently leave out of the narrative), then fought Wlad (semi retired, 18 month layoff coming of a loss and 40!) Takam and Parker (hasn't done much since - struggled with Chisora), Povetkin (over the hill, don't let one punch against Whyte change that), and Ruiz x2 (who at the time of the first fight was seen as an easier fight than Miller) and n ancient inactive Pulev. It is not the murderers row that Hearn would have you believe. Not at all.

If AJ ditches the WBO and fights Ruiz or Ortiz (who actually wants to see that?) then he/his team are seriously lacking some confidence. Maybe Fury was a cash out fight for him?

I saw that.

Said Charles Martin is now 'back on the scene', still mentions Breazeale even though he got flattened in about 20 seconds by Wilder and easily beaten by Wallin (who he called a joke opponent for Fury). Seems to think people have forgotten Takam came in at a weeks notice and got sparked out by Chisora in his next fight. Absolute helmet.

I would still say that AJ has fought, on average, consistently better opposition than Fury and in particular Wilder. But they did fight each other a couple of times which needs a lot of credit.

AJ fought Martin in his 16th fight (and several people were picking Martin before they fought on here) and Wladimir in his 19th. Despite also being an Olympic medalist Wilder fought Reggie Pena in his 16th fight and Daniel Cota in his 19th.

Bar Molina AJ has consistently fought good opposition since being champ. He unified twice and his fights with Takam, Povetkin (who I actually was in good shape and on form against AJ - not the shadow of the fighter he once was against Whyte both times) and Pulev were mandatories. Several of Wilder’s poor opponents weren’t mandatories.

[dbf]

Laughable that Hearn said in an interview yesterday that Povetkin was at his peak when Joshua fought him!

So much spin its insane. He won his first title against Charle Martin, defended against Brezeale and Molina (who Hearn seems to conveniently leave out of the narrative), then fought Wlad (semi retired, 18 month layoff coming of a loss and 40!) Takam and Parker (hasn't done much since - struggled with Chisora), Povetkin (over the hill, don't let one punch against Whyte change that), and Ruiz x2 (who at the time of the first fight was seen as an easier fight than Miller) and n ancient inactive Pulev. It is not the murderers row that Hearn would have you believe. Not at all.

If AJ ditches the WBO and fights Ruiz or Ortiz (who actually wants to see that?) then he/his team are seriously lacking some confidence. Maybe Fury was a cash out fight for him?

I saw that.

Said Charles Martin is now 'back on the scene', still mentions Breazeale even though he got flattened in about 20 seconds by Wilder and easily beaten by Wallin (who he called a joke opponent for Fury). Seems to think people have forgotten Takam came in at a weeks notice and got sparked out by Chisora in his next fight. Absolute helmet.

I would still say that AJ has fought, on average, consistently better opposition than Fury and in particular Wilder. But they did fight each other a couple of times which needs a lot of credit.

AJ fought Martin in his 16th fight (and several people were picking Martin before they fought on here) and Wladimir in his 19th. Despite also being an Olympic medalist Wilder fought Reggie Pena in his 16th fight and Daniel Cota in his 19th.

Bar Molina AJ has consistently fought good opposition since being champ. He unified twice and his fights with Takam, Povetkin (who I actually was in good shape and on form against AJ - not the shadow of the fighter he once was against Whyte both times) and Pulev were mandatories. Several of Wilder’s poor opponents weren’t mandatories.

Its a fair point about AJ fighting those guys with such few fights, I sometimes forget that. He did however get stopped by Ruiz and fought scared against him the second time. I think that shows his level a little more than beating over the hill fighters. Fury fought Wlad when he was on a 10 year unbeaten streak (although past his prime) and Wilder in his Prime. The only prime fighters AJ has fought in his reign have been Parker and Ruiz and he fought scared against Parker, who has subsequently shown his level and got stopped by Ruiz.

[maverick23]

I saw that.

Said Charles Martin is now 'back on the scene', still mentions Breazeale even though he got flattened in about 20 seconds by Wilder and easily beaten by Wallin (who he called a joke opponent for Fury). Seems to think people have forgotten Takam came in at a weeks notice and got sparked out by Chisora in his next fight. Absolute helmet.

I would still say that AJ has fought, on average, consistently better opposition than Fury and in particular Wilder. But they did fight each other a couple of times which needs a lot of credit.

AJ fought Martin in his 16th fight (and several people were picking Martin before they fought on here) and Wladimir in his 19th. Despite also being an Olympic medalist Wilder fought Reggie Pena in his 16th fight and Daniel Cota in his 19th.

Bar Molina AJ has consistently fought good opposition since being champ. He unified twice and his fights with Takam, Povetkin (who I actually was in good shape and on form against AJ - not the shadow of the fighter he once was against Whyte both times) and Pulev were mandatories. Several of Wilder’s poor opponents weren’t mandatories.

Its a fair point about AJ fighting those guys with such few fights, I sometimes forget that. He did however get stopped by Ruiz and fought scared against him the second time. I think that shows his level a little more than beating over the hill fighters. Fury fought Wlad when he was on a 10 year unbeaten streak (although past his prime) and Wilder in his Prime. The only prime fighters AJ has fought in his reign have been Parker and Ruiz and he fought scared against Parker, who has subsequently shown his level and got stopped by Ruiz.

Yeah - I’m not saying that I think AJ is the best at the moment (I slightly lean towards Fury) I just don’t think the criticism of his opposition is that fair. Whether he fought scared or not has nothing to do with that. Did Fury fight scared against Wlad or Wilder in the first fight? I don’t think so - he fought to win. Just like AJ did and just like other top fighters have done over the years.

[maverick23]

I saw that.

Said Charles Martin is now 'back on the scene', still mentions Breazeale even though he got flattened in about 20 seconds by Wilder and easily beaten by Wallin (who he called a joke opponent for Fury). Seems to think people have forgotten Takam came in at a weeks notice and got sparked out by Chisora in his next fight. Absolute helmet.

I would still say that AJ has fought, on average, consistently better opposition than Fury and in particular Wilder. But they did fight each other a couple of times which needs a lot of credit.

AJ fought Martin in his 16th fight (and several people were picking Martin before they fought on here) and Wladimir in his 19th. Despite also being an Olympic medalist Wilder fought Reggie Pena in his 16th fight and Daniel Cota in his 19th.

Bar Molina AJ has consistently fought good opposition since being champ. He unified twice and his fights with Takam, Povetkin (who I actually was in good shape and on form against AJ - not the shadow of the fighter he once was against Whyte both times) and Pulev were mandatories. Several of Wilder’s poor opponents weren’t mandatories.

Yeah I don't have an issue with people fighting mandatories, it has to be done, but Hearn just makes himself look daft trying to claim Takam, Martin and Breazeale are any good. He was saying Martin would beat Wilder the other week ffs.

I don’t particularly rate Takam but he was a decent last minute replacement that counted as his mandatory. Both Martin and Breazeale were unbeaten when they fought AJ. I never particularly rated Breazeale but Martin’s not a bad fighter. He stopped Washington in his last fight who’d stopped Helenius (not an easy thing to do) in his fight previous. If Martin fought Wilder I think he’d be Wilder’s 3rd toughest opponent after Fury and Ortiz. I never particularly rated Stiverne.

[dbf]

I would still say that AJ has fought, on average, consistently better opposition than Fury and in particular Wilder. But they did fight each other a couple of times which needs a lot of credit.

AJ fought Martin in his 16th fight (and several people were picking Martin before they fought on here) and Wladimir in his 19th. Despite also being an Olympic medalist Wilder fought Reggie Pena in his 16th fight and Daniel Cota in his 19th.

Bar Molina AJ has consistently fought good opposition since being champ. He unified twice and his fights with Takam, Povetkin (who I actually was in good shape and on form against AJ - not the shadow of the fighter he once was against Whyte both times) and Pulev were mandatories. Several of Wilder’s poor opponents weren’t mandatories.

Its a fair point about AJ fighting those guys with such few fights, I sometimes forget that. He did however get stopped by Ruiz and fought scared against him the second time. I think that shows his level a little more than beating over the hill fighters. Fury fought Wlad when he was on a 10 year unbeaten streak (although past his prime) and Wilder in his Prime. The only prime fighters AJ has fought in his reign have been Parker and Ruiz and he fought scared against Parker, who has subsequently shown his level and got stopped by Ruiz.

Yeah - I’m not saying that I think AJ is the best at the moment (I slightly lean towards Fury) I just don’t think the criticism of his opposition is that fair. Whether he fought scared or not has nothing to do with that. Did Fury fight scared against Wlad or Wilder in the first fight? I don’t think so - he fought to win. Just like AJ did and just like other top fighters have done over the years.

Good point, and you're right, we were talking about quality of opposition and not how they performed. I can't argue with that. Fair play

[maverick23]

Its a fair point about AJ fighting those guys with such few fights, I sometimes forget that. He did however get stopped by Ruiz and fought scared against him the second time. I think that shows his level a little more than beating over the hill fighters. Fury fought Wlad when he was on a 10 year unbeaten streak (although past his prime) and Wilder in his Prime. The only prime fighters AJ has fought in his reign have been Parker and Ruiz and he fought scared against Parker, who has subsequently shown his level and got stopped by Ruiz.

Yeah - I’m not saying that I think AJ is the best at the moment (I slightly lean towards Fury) I just don’t think the criticism of his opposition is that fair. Whether he fought scared or not has nothing to do with that. Did Fury fight scared against Wlad or Wilder in the first fight? I don’t think so - he fought to win. Just like AJ did and just like other top fighters have done over the years.

Good point, and you're right, we were talking about quality of opposition and not how they performed. I can't argue with that. Fair play