Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk - September 25, 2021

[Bard of Boxrec]

Believe you him at your peril, straightforward win for AJ.

[golden_labrador]

It's fair to say Usyk hit Bellew hard enough that the guy was clearly drunk uncle wedding speech concussed in the interviews afterwards.

was quite uncomfortable viewing in the end.

if Usyk can make Joshua feel like he's in a dance he can't do properly, tires him out while peppering him with bitch slaps he can win.

If.

[margaret thatcher]

Believe you him at your peril, straightforward win for AJ.

imo, best usyk does is win a couple rounds and go the distance in a mostly survival oriented fight that aj takes like 9-3 or 10-2 or something.....a bit similar to aj -parker although i think usyks better than parker

[HeavyHitters]

Will this be on free TV?

[candyslim]

Yes and it's free entry to White Hart Lane to watch it live too. Hard to believe isn't it?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Bob Arum: It's Against My Economic Interest, But I'm Rooting For Usyk To Beat Joshua

Top Rank boss Bob Arum is willing to bypass the biggest boxing match in British history for his own rooting interests.

The 89-year-old co-promoter of Tyson Fury would prefer to see Oleksandr Usyk beat Anthony Joshua on Sept. 25 rather than have Joshua beat WBO mandatory challenger Usyk to further help set-up the super fight against Fury -- should the WBC heavyweight champion also beat Deontay Wilder on Oct. 9.

"Usyk is a friend of mine because he is Vasiliy Lomachenko's friend. He is a terrific guy, funny, articulate and smart,” Arum told Sky Sports. "It is against my economic interest, but I will be rooting for [Usyk] in the fight! I just can't help myself."

Usyk is not promoted by Top Rank, but is often seen ringside at the company’s shows supporting fellow Ukraninan countryman and Olympics gold medal winner Lomachenko. Both fighters also share the same manager in Egis Klimas.

Arum, along with Frank W and Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, have already struck a two-fight pact in March to pit Fury and Joshua for all of the heavyweight marbles.

In May, Fury prematurely announced an Aug. 14 date to fight Joshua in Saudi Arabia. Days later, an arbitrator ruled Wilder was entitled to a third fight with Fury. The originally announced July 24 date for the Fury vs. Wilder trilogy was moved to later this fall after Fury contracted COVID-19.

Both Joshua and Fury have serious opponents and obstacles to overcome for the fight to finally come to fruition, perhaps as soon as next February should Joshua and Fury both remain victorious and unscathed.

Arum appears unbothered who Fury’s eventual dance partner will be.

"There are a lot of good heavyweights that we could fight," he said. "Tyson, because of his personality, has really appealed to the American audience and is such a big favorite in the U.S. He is larger than life, he is a straight talker, and people in the States love him.

"This is a new era. We have never seen heavyweights of the size that we see now. We've never seen a guy of 6'9'' like Tyson fight the way he does. Or Joshua. They are all huge … In ordinary times a guy like Usyk, against a 6'2'' heavyweight, has a really good shot. But against a massive guy like Joshua? It may be a bridge too far."

Joshua, meanwhile, is promising to disrupt Arum’s wishes.

"I'm looking to do a good job, to handle business, because I have my eyes set on other things [after the Usyk fight],” Joshua told Sky Sports.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Press Release

Tickets for Anthony Joshua’s IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO Heavyweight World Title defence against Oleksandr Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday September 25 have sold out within the first 24 hours of going on sale.

‘AJ’ has sold-out stadiums and arenas around the world and now the Heavyweight division’s biggest attraction returns to the Capital for his fifth stadium fight at the sensational, state of the art home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Over 100,000 fans waited in the StubHub ticket queue for their chance to land seats for one of the biggest Heavyweight clashes of the year starring two London 2012 Olympic gold medallists going head-to-head in their quests for Undisputed supremacy.

Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) dominated and then floored IBF Mandatory Challenger Kubrat Pulev to score a brutal ninth-round knockout at The SSE Arena, Wembley last time out in December in what was his first fight on UK soil since he stopped Alexander Povetkin in seven explosive rounds at Wembley Stadium back in September 2018.

Ukrainian pound-for-pound star Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs) made the move to the Heavyweight division after dominating at Cruiserweight, ending his extraordinary spell at 200lbs as the Undisputed king with a phenomenal run of victories in his opponent’s backyard against Marco Huck, Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev and Tony Bellew.

The 2012 Olympic Gold medallist began his assault on the Heavyweight division by retiring Chazz Witherspoon in seven rounds at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago in October 2019 and continued his bid to become a two-weight World Champion when he outpointed Derek Chisora over 12 rounds at The SSE Arena, Wembley last October.

Undercard details will be announced in due course.

[Bard of Boxrec]

He is feel; he is very feel.

[Bandog]

Leaning towards Joshua via a Canelo type decision if in the UK.

[adislav123]

Leaning towards Joshua via a Canelo type decision if in the UK.

which equals robbery.

people obviously think after joshua's 'masterclass' by way of keeping a flatfooted ruiz at bay but still never landing anything of consequence, he's suddenly capable of 'outboxing' the real masterboxer usyk.

if joshua doesn't luckily catch a cold usyk off guard with a bomb, trying to steamroll him early on, there is no way in hell he wins legitimately on points.

[DrDuke]

Usyk can box good enough to enable the judges to rob him.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[margaret thatcher]

should bring back the crazy usyk hair

[Enlightened-One]

should bring back the crazy usyk hair

Imagine if Usyk had a small square moustache perfectly framed with his nostrils (in that photo), who do you think he'd resemble?

Somebody a lot less historically humorous than Charlie Chaplin and Oliver Hardy, that's for sure!

[DrDuke]

Usyk should have a moustache because his surname means a diminutive form for "moustache" in Russian (they speak it more than Ukrainian, where he was born).

[margaret thatcher]

should bring back the crazy usyk hair

Imagine if Usyk had a small square moustache perfectly framed with his nostrils (in that photo), who do you think he'd resemble?

Somebody a lot less historically humorous than Charlie Chaplin and Oliver Hardy, that's for sure!

adolfsandr usyk

[Wales]

Leaning towards Joshua via a Canelo type decision if in the UK.

which equals robbery.

people obviously think after joshua's 'masterclass' by way of keeping a flatfooted ruiz at bay but still never landing anything of consequence, he's suddenly capable of 'outboxing' the real masterboxer usyk.

if joshua doesn't luckily catch a cold usyk off guard with a bomb, trying to steamroll him early on, there is no way in hell he wins legitimately on points.

Joshua should outweigh him by 20 odd lbs on the night and by 30 odd lbs naturally. If nothing else AJ is a good finisher, if he hurts Usyk I think he will finish him .

Usyk is nobodies fool though…. Could fiddle his way through rounds

[golden_labrador]

Usyk said he was 232lbs back in May. Wonder if he's kept going.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ringside24 ... hoshua.amp

[Enlightened-One]

No offense but I never listen to Bellew's opinion because it's obvious he's acting like a shill for the people who pay him.

Won't the AJ fight be on Sky, with Bellew now employed by DAZN?

[Ruthless-RKO]

No offense but I never listen to Bellew's opinion because it's obvious he's acting like a shill for the people who pay him.

Won't the AJ fight be on Sky, with Bellew now employed by DAZN?

That’s true.

We’re gonna get Anna, Nelson, Froch

[Ruthless-RKO]

Bellew: Usyk is 'Best Natural Boxer' That Joshua Will Ever Face

Former two division champion Tony Bellew believes Oleksandr Usyk is the "best boxer" that Anthony Joshua is ever going to face in his career.

Joshua will defend his WBO, IBF, WBA, IBO titles against Usyk, a mandatory challenger, on September 25 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Bellew retired from the sport in 2018, after suffering a vicious knockout loss at the hands of Usyk.

Regarding his ability to pull off the upset next month, Usyk has been written off by a lot of critics.

Usyk unified the entire cruiserweight division in 2018.

He moved up to the heavyweight limit the following year.

The unbeaten boxer's run has not been as impressive since jumping to a higher weight class

Back in October of 2020, Usyk had a much tougher time than expected in winning a twelve round unanimous decision over division veteran Derek Chisora.

In terms of boxing skills, Bellew backs Usyk as being the best boxer that Joshua could step in the ring with.

But, that's not the same thing as saying Usyk will be the hardest fight for Joshua, says Bellew.

“I’ve been saying it. This is the best boxer he’s ever going to face in a boxing ring,” Bellew told IFL TV.

“The best natural boxer, without a shadow of a doubt. It’s not potentially his hardest fight because Tyson Fury’s potentially his hardest fight. But the best boxer he’ll ever face? Yes.

“For what he’s capable of doing, how good he is, how technically good he is, the arsenal of punches that he’s got. He’s outstanding as a boxer. Standalone, without a doubt. He won’t face a better boxer than him.”

[gregregegg]

Bellew: Usyk is 'Best Natural Boxer' That Joshua Will Ever Face

Former two division champion Tony Bellew believes Oleksandr Usyk is the "best boxer" that Anthony Joshua is ever going to face in his career.

Joshua will defend his WBO, IBF, WBA, IBO titles against Usyk, a mandatory challenger, on September 25 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Bellew retired from the sport in 2018, after suffering a vicious knockout loss at the hands of Usyk.

Regarding his ability to pull off the upset next month, Usyk has been written off by a lot of critics.

Usyk unified the entire cruiserweight division in 2018.

He moved up to the heavyweight limit the following year.

The unbeaten boxer's run has not been as impressive since jumping to a higher weight class

Back in October of 2020, Usyk had a much tougher time than expected in winning a twelve round unanimous decision over division veteran Derek Chisora.

In terms of boxing skills, Bellew backs Usyk as being the best boxer that Joshua could step in the ring with.

But, that's not the same thing as saying Usyk will be the hardest fight for Joshua, says Bellew.

“I’ve been saying it. This is the best boxer he’s ever going to face in a boxing ring,” Bellew told IFL TV.

“The best natural boxer, without a shadow of a doubt. It’s not potentially his hardest fight because Tyson Fury’s potentially his hardest fight. But the best boxer he’ll ever face? Yes.

“For what he’s capable of doing, how good he is, how technically good he is, the arsenal of punches that he’s got. He’s outstanding as a boxer. Standalone, without a doubt. He won’t face a better boxer than him.”

While i really really enjoy your updates normaly, can we please keep this as a safe space and not report on any of tony bellews thoughts or opinions. For gods sake, he is ment to be at home with his wife and kids not chasing Koogz around looking for another interview.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Bellew: Usyk is 'Best Natural Boxer' That Joshua Will Ever Face

Former two division champion Tony Bellew believes Oleksandr Usyk is the "best boxer" that Anthony Joshua is ever going to face in his career.

Joshua will defend his WBO, IBF, WBA, IBO titles against Usyk, a mandatory challenger, on September 25 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Bellew retired from the sport in 2018, after suffering a vicious knockout loss at the hands of Usyk.

Regarding his ability to pull off the upset next month, Usyk has been written off by a lot of critics.

Usyk unified the entire cruiserweight division in 2018.

He moved up to the heavyweight limit the following year.

The unbeaten boxer's run has not been as impressive since jumping to a higher weight class

Back in October of 2020, Usyk had a much tougher time than expected in winning a twelve round unanimous decision over division veteran Derek Chisora.

In terms of boxing skills, Bellew backs Usyk as being the best boxer that Joshua could step in the ring with.

But, that's not the same thing as saying Usyk will be the hardest fight for Joshua, says Bellew.

“I’ve been saying it. This is the best boxer he’s ever going to face in a boxing ring,” Bellew told IFL TV.

“The best natural boxer, without a shadow of a doubt. It’s not potentially his hardest fight because Tyson Fury’s potentially his hardest fight. But the best boxer he’ll ever face? Yes.

“For what he’s capable of doing, how good he is, how technically good he is, the arsenal of punches that he’s got. He’s outstanding as a boxer. Standalone, without a doubt. He won’t face a better boxer than him.”

While i really really enjoy your updates normaly, can we please keep this as a safe space and not report on any of tony bellews thoughts or opinions. For gods sake, he is ment to be at home with his wife and kids not chasing Koogz around looking for another interview.

Got it, Keep it a Bellew free zone!

[Ruthless-RKO]

Rob McCracken rejoins the fold in Anthony Joshua’s training camp as he prepares for Oleksandr Usyk

With Olympic boxing officially wrapped up, trainer Rob McCracken will get back to work in the corner of Anthony Joshua as the unified heavyweight champion prepares for his upcoming title defense against mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk.

Earlier this year we reported on the scheduling conflict between McCraken and Joshua with McCracken serving as a coach for Team Great Britain which was running concurrent to Joshua’s training camp leading to this upcoming title fight. The Toyko Games are now finished though, and Anthony Joshua is eager to get his trainer back to work putting the finishing touches on his camp to have him as prepared as possible.

McCracken tells Sky Sports that he feels good about where Joshua is currently at and says they still have plenty of time to put in the necessary work together.

“He is doing fine, he’s where he needs to be. I’ll get back and there will still be seven weeks [before his fight], which is a long time in a 36-minute fight. We’ll get back, me and the team, the others [at Tokyo 2020] who work with AJ, so we can put the work together, get the sparring right, get the prep right.”

With McCracken now fully focused on Anthony Joshua’s task at hand, he’ll have to find fighters who can emulate Oleksandr Usyk’s southpaw style which won’t be easy consider Usyk is one of the very best technical fighters in the sport. Joshua will certainly have the size advantage, however, and we’ll just have to see if he tries to impose his physicality to offset the craft of the Ukrainian.

[Bandog]

Good fight for Joshua. See if he can box instead of just bang.