Usyk vs Joshua 2

First topic message reminder :

Fight seems back on for June, presumably at the Tottenham Stadium.
Usyk received permission from his government to take fight.
Lomachenko also given permission to fight Kamboses Jr

Joshua needs to do the basics to win. In the first fight there was no defence, no footwork, no head movement and no jab. Uysk picked him off easily. Joshua needs to use the range, establish the jab, and keep on the move, otherwise it'll be the same result.

With Usyk carrying more muscle there’s a high chance his stamina is depleted compared to his usual highly movement based style.
So if Joshua can keep Usyk at distance, after 5-6 rounds the muscle bound Ukrainian may run out of gas.

I'm with Truss where I believe that AJ simply HAS to throw a couple bombs early so that Usyk tastes the power. A flush punch from AJ would floor most heavies and would certainly dissuade anyone from coming close. Throw him off his gameplan, give him something to think about, be nasty.

The younger AJ would have gone for it.

I'd be surprised if Usyk has ballsed up his weight and suffers for it, Jeff. He never seems anything less than properly prepared for a fight and he'll know that his stamina, which has always been tremendous, is a big advantage over his opponents. Can't see him doing anything to jeopardize that, and it's not as if Joshua looked any more imposing or powerful in the clinches in the last fight on the occasions when they did occur. He's big enough.

He's been 215, 217 and 221 for his Heavyweight run so far, so true to form I'd probably expect another small increase here, but unless he's 230 or more I wouldn't read too much into his weight. I don't think Joshua can or should pin his hopes on Usyk gassing. Just doesn't seem any good reason to think that, for me.

The younger AJ did not necessarily face the level of competition he is currently facing now that he has reached the elite level, so I am not entirely convinced what the younger AJ could have done better than this older more experienced version of AJ.  Also an older AJ is older and maybe his reflexes has slowed down a little.

It is said that Usyk had studied AJ for ten years before fighting AJ in 2021 - meaning since 2011 - which probably means AJ appeared on Usyk's radar before the 2011 Amateur World Boxing Championship where Usyk won heavyweight gold and AJ super-heavyweight silver.  That is Usyk claims to have studied all versions of AJ from the very young to the present version.  

That said it appears by many including professional trainers that AJ has to let his hands go and target the body and be prepared to take a Usyk punch in order to try to land his own.

Weigh in:

Oleksandr Usyk 221.5lbs - up 0.5lbs from first fight
Anthony Joshua 244.5lbs - up 4.5lbs from first fight

Some clown told me earlier this week ‘watch Usyk come in at 250lbs’…

No name Bertie wrote:The younger AJ did not necessarily face the level of competition he is currently facing now that he has reached the elite level, so I am not entirely convinced what the younger AJ could have done better than this older more experienced version of AJ.  Also an older AJ is older and maybe his reflexes has slowed down a little.

It is said that Usyk had studied AJ for ten years before fighting AJ in 2021 - meaning since 2011 - which probably means AJ appeared on Usyk's radar before the 2011 Amateur World Boxing Championship where Usyk won heavyweight gold and AJ super-heavyweight silver.  That is Usyk claims to have studied all versions of AJ from the very young to the present version.  

That said it appears by many including professional trainers that AJ has to let his hands go and target the body and be prepared to take a Usyk punch in order to try to land his own.

A younger AJ was fighting and beating both Wlad and Povetkin whilst fighting far more aggressively than he's done since losing to Ruiz, if he returned to that style he'd be better served than the way he's fought in recent years.

That's complete nonsense about Usyk studying AJ for ten years.

Interesting weights these days...Tyson in his first title run before Washington generally weighed between 215 and 220..

When Spinks weighed in at 215 against him the odds went from reasonably close to out far and wide..

Usyk in any other era would pay for fattening up to 221.

But Heavies are so slow these days it hardly matters....

Tubbs was a slob at 235 back then at 6ft 3....Whyte is 255 and 6ft 3....Tubbs was fast and had Footwork gained from fighting plenty of Amateur fights and the best Cubans of his day..

Speed is a characteristic Heavies don't need and that is sad.

86 Tyson destroys both these guys on the same night.

I just hope that we get a bit more of the old Joshua tomorrow - he certainly seemed to enjoy punching people in the face. Body shots maybe? However, unless AJ gets nasty, I can see a similar result.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Weigh in:

Oleksandr Usyk 221.5lbs - up 0.5lbs from first fight
Anthony Joshua 244.5lbs - up 4.5lbs from first fight

There was a report indicating that Usyk had lost 20 lb in one week during the early stages of the Russian incursion into Eastern Ukraine. Then recently some were saying he has added 15 lb to his weight. Usyk said he sees this rematch as a continuation of where they left off in the first fight and some see that as an indication that Usyk more or less knows what to expect and so will be trying to stop AJ taking maybe a few more risks.

Stopped bodybuilding after a hernia op in March...Lost 10lbs to 212....A month of training and eating properly (Avoiding red's cooking) and I was up to 223...

Not a problem because Usyk's body has muscle memory.

Seems pretty obvious AJ needs to be more aggressive. Unless he can get Usyk by halfway or inflicts enough damage to stop him getting into a rhythm (which I doubt) I see him running out of gas and being stopped, completely exhausted around the 10th.

£26.95, Sky are having a laugh. Radio coverage via Talksport I understand.

Anyone with VPN switch to Ukraine and the fight will be available for free on Usyk’s YouTube channel

Think Rivera has won this for me. Got it 6-3-1 personally. Bit of a dodgy decision...... How did Rivera only win 4 Rounds.... 1, 2, 4, 5, and 10 all clear as day for Rivera...... 3 and 6 up for grabs and Jack wins 7, 8 and 9.

Agree IJK, I though Rivera got hosed there too.

Callum Smith KOs some stiff and is now mandatory to Artur Beterbiev…
Beterbiev ices him inside 6

What we all going for in the main event then?

I think Uysk by late stoppage.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Callum Smith KOs some stiff and is now mandatory to Artur Beterbiev…
Beterbiev ices him inside 6

I wouldn't rule Smith out myself, Beterbiev looks very open to the body with his upright stance and Callum can throw a devastating kidney shot when he chooses to. Smith is however far too good to be in these kind of fights, it does nothing for his bank balance or career.7

On a side note feels as though almost every Badou Jack fight ends in a split or majority decision, don't think he's ever comfortably won a fight outside of Cleverly (finished and never any good).

Got to agree with "Jeff Navarro" here, everything Smith does, Beterbiev matches or does better and I'd be surprised if Beterbiev doesn't get the job done and I'd expect a KO between 6 and 9.

Bivol would be a better match up as Smith would make the fight awkward and this could lead to a cagey affair. Still think Bivol wins, but its not as clear cut.

I actually think Johnson v Smith would be the best fight, but I can't see this happening.

Aside from punching like a freight train I do not rate Beterbiev at all as a technician; Smith is outgunned quite substantially in the power stakes but has the edge in every other department for me.

Beterbiev actually has a killer jab when he uses it. But recently he’s been fighting way more aggressively.

Beterbiev’s power is freakish though - Joe Smith Jr has a solid chin and yet he was crushed easily.

Smith vs Buatsi could be the fight TBH. Smith is now WBC #1 and Buatsi is WBA #2.
So the winner of that would be mandatory for both Beterbiev and Bivol.

Duty281 wrote:What we all going for in the main event then?

I think Uysk by late stoppage.

With Joshua’s extra weight, you would have to assume he must win early. Otherwise Usyk probably takes it down the stretch.

Beterbiev is probably fourth in the pure power stakes at 175lbs, no doubting his power at all. Smith was abject against Alvarez but he's much better than that, looked more comfortable since he's moved up, no idea how he kept draining down to 168lbs, looks like a natural cruiserweight to me. Hopefully it's a fight that happens, no interest in watching Yarde get dismantled.

Got to disagree with you "Soul Requiem", usually their is a reason guys can be 'comfortably aggressive' and similar to guys all the way back to Hank Armstrong and to more modern day contemporarys like Pac-Man, usually this is steeped in a deep confidence in the fundamentals and I see similarities in Beterbiev. Would be shocked if Smith makes it a close affair personally.

Armstrong had freakish natural abilities that allowed him to fight a such a ferocious pace, not seeing many similarities with Beterbiev myself whilst Pacquiao had that handspeed out of a southpaw stance.

Hrgovic might win this fight, but... Quite clearly when pushed backwards he is not the same fighter. Could be the making of him as its a big learning curve about measuring distance and fighting Iin different ways. Took Fury 20 fights to get to get to be the full package and Hrgovic needs to learn.

One thing to remember with Beterbiev is his age, I didn’t realise he turns 38 in January. He seems to get injured a fair bit as well.
If you get him at the right time maybe he’ll be there for the taking.
But that won’t be Anthony Yarde...

Age is the ultimate equaliser (unless your Bernard Hopkins) and Beterbiev could fall off a cliff quickly at 38 for sure.

In his last showings though, he is number 1 for LH for me with Bivol a close second and anyone fighting him needs to respect that for sure.

You do the opposite, you don't respect it as Johnson didn't, too many are beaten before the first bell. Jump on him and just throw from the off, take him out of his comfort, do not sit back and let him trudge forward.

Ultimately it’s risk vs reward. Is Beterbiev’s opponent willing to go out and tee off. Because if you get it wrong most likely you get brutally KO’d

Boxing in Saudi Arabia is a special thing, it takes a massive fight and makes it feel like nothing. I really do dislike it.

Zhang wins that by a couple of round for me.
Neither are really anyway near top class though.

Embarrassing scorecards Zhang gets robbed

Hrgovic didn't deserve that.  Zhang won 5 rounds for sure and u could argue he won all of 1-6 and 9 and with a 10-8 I don't see how Hrgovic won by a few . 11 was a  close round also and so for me, this is the second poor decision of the night. I thought he won by 2 pts.

It's beginning to feel a bit like WWE, you know Hrgoviv is getting the decision as the younger man.

The atmosphere is a bit subpar compared to fights in the UK

AJ looks like he has a lot of nervous energy here. Not liking his pre-fight vibe

1-0 Usyk

Close first round, but Usyk for me.

1-1 decent bodywork from Joshua

Joshua edges the second for me.

AJ looks a lot better so far, he's thrown the right hand a few times already which is a big improvement. Usyk looks slower so far.

2-1 Joshua

Sky commentary pulling themselves off about Usyk..... close fight, third is a pick em.

Good to see Joshua using the jab and keeping his guard up, but his footwork's still a little stodgy.

Close fourth maybe Usyk round 2-2

It feels as though the AJ of old would have thrown a few right uppercuts to the head inside by now, something that's noticeably missing from his arsenal.

4th was close also. Might give an edge to Usyk if pushed, but personally would call it a draw.

Usyk best round so far in the fifth 3-2