How does Joshua hope to win rounds against Usyk, if he struggled against Povetkin?

He has in the WBS and in the amateurs. Some of those guys arguably hit just as hard, if not harder than AJ.

 

It's not a matter of opinion! The scorecard doesn't reflect your opinion. Nor do the punch stats. Usyk lost no more than 2 rounds at MOST. And outlanded Gassiev in pretty much every round. That's not the definition of someone 'struggling'!

Perhaps some of the top heavyweights do hit harder than Gassiev. So what? It's not like Usyk was stopped, or even dropped by Gassiev or any other cruiser weight before. So what's the point of bringing it up? If Usyk actually got knocked out by a cruiser weight, then you could argue he won't be able to take a top heavyweight punch from a power puncher. But that's obviously not the case!

You do realize that Gassiev isn't the only puncher Usyk has faced? He has also faced other power punchers that arguably punch with just as much power, if not more than Gassiev.

 

I was referring to punching power. Some of the guys Usyk has faced, are some of the most powerful punchers in amateur boxing history, especially as far the the heavyweight division is concerned. Such as Medzhidov and Nistor. Why are we to believe Joshua NECESSARILY has to hit harder than those guys? Those SUPER HEAVYWEIGHTS may very well hit just as hard, if not harder than AJ. Especially guys like Nistor, who has already stopped Joshua in the amateurs and gave Usyk one of his toughest bouts in the amateur ranks.

Medzhidov has sparred with pros and some have claimed he hits as hard as Wladimir Klitschko. I don't put too much stock into what other boxers say in regards to someone's power, but Medzhidov does have very real power, proven by the eye test based on his bouts.

As for if amateur boxers are 'better' overall as boxers compared to pros like Anthony Joshua. Some absolutely are, yes. Amateur boxing is underrated in terms of skills / abilities. And some Cuban / Ukrainian / ex Soviet Bloc amateur boxers can already school some of the pros that we have today, without any pro experience. Look at what Lomachenko has done to far more experienced pros who have fought their entire careers professionally, only to be beaten by a novice pro in Lomachenko with less than 10 bouts.

It's even worse for today's heavyweights because most aren't that skilled. Even Joshua, who is as basic as someone could get as a boxer. There are many amateurs that could very well beat some of the inferior skilled pros that we have today in the heavyweight division.

Amateur boxers just aren't known as much, because they don't make a lot of noise, they don't get payed, there isn't much hype behind them like pro boxers have and they box in an even playing field most of the time. That doesn't at all mean they are inferior to professional boxers in terms of skills and abilities.

I'd say amateur boxing is real boxing and true boxers / boxing fans would appreciate amateur boxing more, because the boxers are doing it for the love of the sport and not for money / fame.

 

One judge had it 120-108 for Usyk (gave Usyk every round). The other two had it 119-108 for Usyk (both only gave Gassiev 1 round each). And that was in Russia, Gassiev's home country against a rival Ukrainian that is Usyk.

Furthermore, even if we ignore the scorecards, even the punch stats / counts don't lie. Usyk out-landed Gassiev in EVERY round. The only two rounds Gassiev won in my scorecard, were the rounds where he appeared to have hurt Usyk somewhat with a few of his punches more than vice versa. Which is effective and quality punching over quantity.

So according to my definition, you're not struggling to beat somebody if you're out-landing them in EVERY round.

 

Maybe! But this isn't about Usyk vs Povetkin. This is about Usyk vs Joshua. And guess what? Prime Usyk today is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the shot, 39 year old, past prime Povetkin who doesn't even have the gas tank for fighting 12 rounds that faced Joshua.

I think it's delusion to think a 39 year old Povetkin is better than prime Usyk today.