AJ fought better since last time but Usyk had more dog and hunger inside him. Fair decision.

[apollo creed]

Indeed AJ did better and he hurted Usyk which was an improvement and it tells us that AJ can learn and develope more as a fighter.

Usyk is a very awkward opponent to fight and he fights at a higher pace keeping his opponent's mind busy.

Aj is fighting too stiff and upright which is tensioning is mucles and get him fatigue. Anyway, he was better in this fight and he landed some good shots. Garcia was a good addition.

People should understand that AJ is a fighter that takes risky fights. He could've vacated that wbo strap and fight another guy, but he didn't! Usyk was bringing only risk to the table.

I'd like to see AJ fighting Wilder and Usyk fighting Fury.

[margaret thatcher]

you still interested in canelo beating usyk

[Syntax Error]

Joshua was a lot better, but he had to be to stand any chance, but he still was not good enough to beat Usyk.

Him fighting Wilder still intrigues me, but it would be frustrating if they suddenly decided that they want to fight each other now after swerving each other for 3 years when they both held all the belts.

They got too obsessed with marinating a fight that didn't need marinating, then Joshua got himself smoked, then Wilder followed suit.

A fight now would seem like a desperate last throw of the dice to try and keep one of them relevant.

[ewenhay]

Closer rounds but I still had Usyk winning 9 of the 12 rounds.

Usyk, Fury and Wilder all beat Joshua.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Before the loss to Ruiz, I'd have picked joshua to smoke wilder.

However he's now gunshy and doesn't let his hands go enough. If you give wilder room to punch, he is very dangerous.

[ewenhay]

Same.

But now he has to focus so much on remembering to box by numbers based on game plans given to him he'll leave Wilder too much room and get knocked out.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Yes he did better than previous.

But I don’t think the game plan even changed.

It just felt like he was trying to outbox him again.

He started off well, dipping his knees etc, being more elusive at times, but that doesn’t last long.

[punchoutsb]

I’d still take AJ over Wilder, but he was never Heavyweight class. He’s good, not great, same as always.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I’d still take AJ over Wilder, but he was never Heavyweight class. He’s good, not great, same as always.

I’d absolutely love to still see Joshua-Wilder

[punchoutsb]

I’d still take AJ over Wilder, but he was never Heavyweight class. He’s good, not great, same as always.

I’d absolutely love to still see Joshua-Wilder

Same. I can’t understand why losses are such a big deal to some fans. Fighters lose and they can’t all be all-time greats. Doesn’t make a hill of beans though.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I’d still take AJ over Wilder, but he was never Heavyweight class. He’s good, not great, same as always.

I’d absolutely love to still see Joshua-Wilder

Same. I can’t understand why losses are such a big deal to some fans. Fighters lose and they can’t all be all-time greats. Doesn’t make a hill of beans though.

Yeh. Look at MMA, they win and lose and still can get top fights.

They don’t matter.

All the greats in boxing lost and still fought on and fought the fights they had to, even if some were late.

[Thomastearns]

I’d absolutely love to still see Joshua-Wilder

Same. I can’t understand why losses are such a big deal to some fans. Fighters lose and they can’t all be all-time greats. Doesn’t make a hill of beans though.

Yeh. Look at MMA, they win and lose and still can get top fights.

They don’t matter.

All the greats in boxing lost and still fought on and fought the fights they had to, even if some were late.

Yes, but the myth of invincibility has always been an attractive one to the fans.

Particularly to most US fans to whom winning is everything.

Marciano's 49 - 0 remains the biggest one of all.

[punchoutsb]

Same. I can’t understand why losses are such a big deal to some fans. Fighters lose and they can’t all be all-time greats. Doesn’t make a hill of beans though.

Yeh. Look at MMA, they win and lose and still can get top fights.

They don’t matter.

All the greats in boxing lost and still fought on and fought the fights they had to, even if some were late.

Yes, but the myth of invincibility has always been an attractive one to the fans.

Particularly to most US fans to whom winning is everything.

Marciano's 49 - 0 remains the biggest one of all.

Right, but fans have understood this in MMA (just not the casuals), so why are boxing fans seemingly so behind?

[DrDuke]

Disgusting judging. Joshua fought better? U kiddin? It wasn't even close. The only difference from the first fight was in Usyk's haircut.

[HomicideHenry]

To be honest with you watching the highlights of the fight I think Joshua actually performed worse than he did the first time because at least the first time around he was constantly throwing the jab and actually busted the Ukrainian up a little bit.

Here in this rematch he was more aggressive (power shots) but in my view he threw less punches. He was more desperate than he was effective. He had the Ukrainian hurt twice but beyond that Usyk was completely in control.

I might be in the minority view on all this but the only thing that seems to have improved with Joshua is his conditioning because he did not gas out like I thought he would.

[NateJR]

To be honest with you watching the highlights of the fight I think Joshua actually performed worse than he did the first time because at least the first time around he was constantly throwing the jab and actually busted the Ukrainian up a little bit.

Here in this rematch he was more aggressive (power shots) but in my view he threw less punches. He was more desperate than he was effective. He had the Ukrainian hurt twice but beyond that Usyk was completely in control.

I might be in the minority view on all this but the only thing that seems to have improved with Joshua is his conditioning because he did not gas out like I thought he would.

I completely agree with you, Joshua went in with the same exact game plan. The improvement from AJ that the OP is talking about I did not see.

The 2 times AJ was able to hurt Usyk, it was like AJ got instant flash backs of his first fight against Ruiz. AJ simply doesn't have the killer instict he used to. I mean seriously, you get a guy hurt and on the ropes when he's boxing your ears off in the center of the ring, you don't step back after a small flurry and allow the fight to go back to the center of the ring. Especially if you're the bigger stronger fighter.

I honest don't think Usyk would beat the AJ prior to his first Ruiz fight. I also don't think Usyk has much of a shot to beat Fury. Fury isn't going to give Usyk any room to work, he going to lead with his jab, close the distance and rough up Usyk on the inside all night long. It's so easy to see how that fight plays out.

[apollo creed]

Before the loss to Ruiz, I'd have picked joshua to smoke wilder.

However he's now gunshy and doesn't let his hands go enough. If you give wilder room to punch, he is very dangerous.

Thats true, AJ has became gunshy. Probably AJ would try to play it safe vs Wilder and box.

[apollo creed]

Tbh I'll still root for AJ in any fight from now. The man dared to fight the best. He's no ducker. Usyk is too damn skilled and he's a dog.

Tbf, AJ made lots of people rich. He put food on the table for lots of guys.

[margaret thatcher]

aj clearly did better this fight, the body work was far better than anything he did the first time and he actually had usyk buzzed for a bit. round 9 for him was far bigger than any round he had in the first fight. he was never looking about to go down like he was in round 12 of their first fight either

a clear loss still, but i dont know how dudes can watch both fights and not think this was a better one for aj

[lazboy]

aj clearly did better this fight, the body work was far better than anything he did the first time and he actually had usyk buzzed for a bit. round 9 for him was far bigger than any round he had in the first fight. he was never looking about to go down like he was in round 12 of their first fight either

a clear loss still, but i dont know how dudes can watch both fights and not think this was a better one for aj

Maybe because they weren’t hearing “Brilliant boxing AJ” every 30 seconds.

[Counter-puncher]

aj clearly did better this fight, the body work was far better than anything he did the first time and he actually had usyk buzzed for a bit. round 9 for him was far bigger than any round he had in the first fight. he was never looking about to go down like he was in round 12 of their first fight either

a clear loss still, but i dont know how dudes can watch both fights and not think this was a better one for aj

Maybe because they weren’t hearing “Brilliant boxing AJ” every 30 seconds.

it was much more frequent than every 30 seconds

i rewatched it the other night, a particular highlight was hearing 'BRILLIANT boxi-----' and Joshua got punched in the face 3 times.

[Counter-puncher]

actually listening closely quite a lot of the shouts were 'BRILLIANT footwork AJ'

[apollo creed]

aj clearly did better this fight, the body work was far better than anything he did the first time and he actually had usyk buzzed for a bit. round 9 for him was far bigger than any round he had in the first fight. he was never looking about to go down like he was in round 12 of their first fight either

a clear loss still, but i dont know how dudes can watch both fights and not think this was a better one for aj

Maybe because they weren’t hearing “Brilliant boxing AJ” every 30 seconds.

it was much more frequent than every 30 seconds

i rewatched it the other night, a particular highlight was hearing 'BRILLIANT boxi-----' and Joshua got punched in the face 3 times.

Does it sounded like sarcasm and mockery or arse licking and yes men?

"Oh, they wanted to be very nice and encourage him" lol

[Counter-puncher]

I sense that there wasn't a great deal of sarcasm and mockery in Joshua's camp. In the general sense (I sense there isn't a great deal of humour in the camp), and definitely in the particular sense that Joshua not only couldn't be mocked, but would be referred to with the utmost gravitas and respect, at all times. I mean, I doubt Joshua could take a water break between exercises without being lauded for it by at least one camp member.

[tigermoth87]

He did better, but I still only gave him 3 rounds. Usyk is a class above.