Brace yourselves and here me out. I think Usyks style will give Joshua problems. I know Aj is seen as a significant favorite against Usyk and from the Chisora fight people think Joshua would run through him. But styles make fights. Joshua from what i can tell, struggles with small slick opponents because he's a textbook fighter and Usyks hit box is a lot smaller than someone like Klitschko or Fury and add to the fact that Usyk can move better than those two and use angles proficiently, Joshua vs Usyk might end up looking like Anthony Joshua vs Erislandy Savon in the Olympics. Chisora was pressuring the hell out of Usyk and had success. But the ring was very small and Chisora didn't give him any breathing room. Joshua can apply pressure pretty good as shown in the Parker fight and the Ivan Dychko fight but if he's throwing the kitchen sink at his opponents and doesn't pace himself for a steady workrate, he starts to gas in seconds, wheras chisora can relentlessly attack for about 4 rounds before he starts gassing. Joshuas best chance to beat Usyk would be to box and counter like he did against Pulev. I can see Joshua winning a UD in that scenario by making Usyk come to him and could score a few knockdowns. but if he tries to maul Usyk and gasses like he did against Klitschko, Usyk would be on his ass. Usyk vs Aj is 60/40 favoring AJ in my opinion because styles make fights. Usyk is smaller than Klitschko and is more mobile than Fury. I think this can really give Joshua coordination problems.
Usyk has regressed and has been doing too much S&C work to bulk up for HW and AJ has improved because he's cut down on the S&C work and isn't so musclebound now. This evens it up more for me now. The Usyk who fought in the WSB against all those giant SHW behemoths was a different fighter. He was more agile, fluid, better head movement, countered a lot more, much higher output. To be fair, he looked less stiff, slow and bulky against Chisora than he did against Witherspoon but his optimum fighting weight was what he was coming in at down at CW and he was already carrying plenty of muscle down at that weight. He's still fast, elusive, and very skillful for a HW and he can still beat AJ and co but all this heavy lifting is slowing him down and detracting from what makes him so good and effective. It's imperative he finds the right balance. This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
Usyk knows he only has a few more years left, will retire before he is 38. He isn't even prime anymore. Bet he has hidden injuries as well. Wanted that AJ paycheck but Ruiz ruined the masterplan.
Ruiz was also a bad style match up for Aj. He was a midget pressure fighter and his short height gave him a better center of gravity while his speedy combinations and short reach made him deadlier at close range. Whereas Ruiz would be absolutely Tailor made for someone like Tyson Fury.
LOL None of that equates to "heavy lifting" by any stretch of the term. Usyk wins two bouts against mediocre opposition comfortably, barely losing rounds, while probably not even getting up the bouts that much, and the forum concludes that he has regressed. You have to laugh.
This would come down to Usyk's better skillset and speed against Joshua's sheer size and punching power. I personally would not venture a wager in this fight until I see Usyk fight a couple of real heavyweights, hopefully ones who have faced Joshua, like Parker or White, and see how he fares.
He's increased the S&C work to try and bulk up and add more strength and power at HW and it's detracting from his speed and agility and punch output IMO and these are some of his best attributes and ones which will serve him well against these big slower giants at HW. The whole forum isn't saying he's regressed but I have been saying that for years, and I mean before he moved up to HW. I think he looked his best under Bashir but the rate he's been going through trainers (like 5 in his last 8 fights or something) hasn't been helpful and his tactics in certain fights haven't been the smartest. Bashir studied at the hit and don't hit school of thought and he had Usyk boxing and moving more, not walking his opponents down behind a tight guard and eating unnecessary shots. Usyk is supremely talented and gifted and he's opted to neglect his beautiful skills sometimes which I think partially has something to do with him being advised to change his style to a more aggressive one to appeal to the US market, as were Loma and Gvozdyk too. He didn't look good against Witherspoon but I cut him some slack because he was coming back from a serious injury, a year out, and he was a bit too bulky IMO. Not to mention he'd trained to fight Spong and Witherspoon was a very late replacement. He still did well all things considered and it's not like he didn't start off slow down at CW a lot of the time and gradually raise the tempo. I think he did well against Chisora too who causes almost everyone problems and Usyk could've got him out of there in the second half of the fight if he put his foot on the gas. There's a lot of context to add regarding that win too.
The cuban erislandy savon beat AJ decisively. The next 2 fights AJ ran thru easy n the gold medal match was up in the air. AJ wouldn't have even made it to the quarterfinals if the olympics werent in london in 2012. And this is coming from an AJ fan. If usyk could box the way savon did its a UD for him
Straw man. Not an unpopular opinion. Clickbait. Booo! Everybody wants to be a victim of "hate". On topic: I'll take Usyk to beat AJ. The more rounds it goes the better it gets for Usyk.
Yes there is! Joshua v Fury makes all concerned, especially Hearn, obscene amounts of money making an insignificant Usyk‘s step aside money look like peanuts. If he beats Fury then Joshua can still get to Usyk at a later date Win Win Win for Hearn and Joshua!
Joshua would be the favourite if the fight happened tomorrow in my eyes, but not by much. But the reality is that if they ever happen to sign a fight, it wouldn't happen before 2022 summer, most likely autumn or 2023 spring. Usyk will be pretty much shot at that point. Dude has like 2 good performances left. People are forgetting that Usyk has no natural gifts or advantages at heavyweight. Joshua will hammer him at the time they would meet. As would Fury.
