Looks like this will be made official soon at the Spurs stadium. Although we wanted the Fury fight this is a seriously good fight and hard to call, personally I think Usyk is the favourite in this fight and I think team AJ are going to be extremely nervous leading up to this as that undisputed mega fight could be all over if this goes wrong. Early thoughts, who wins and how?
Joshua KO for me. Usyk isnt the same at heavy amd has clearly lost a step. Chisora landed some decent shots, Joshua is alot quicker and probably more powerful.
AJ by decision or late TKO Usyk isn't quick enough to outbox or frustrate Joshua for 12 rounds nor does he have the power to keep AJ off him, all the guys who have troubled or beaten Joshua had real HW power.
AJ by late TKO for me. Usyk does not suit the HW division, he is not holding the weight that well and has not looked impressive against 2 gatekeepers- so I don't fancy his chances on away soil against arguably the best/second best in the division. His game is all about movement not power, at HW if you don't have power you at the very least must have size to be able to be effective if your a boxer rather than a puncher. He does not have size on his side, and looks noticeably slower. AJ is a extremely underrated boxer. He has the punch selection, jab, and discipline to set his right hand and uppercut up and then it's only a matter of time as the fight progresses. Still, brilliant fight, and will be competitive for sure. Other than Fury this is the best fight out there for AJ. I hope he gets the credit he deserves if he wins! September is very disappointing though. If true then AJ is 100% fighting just once this year, not good.. Fury fight looks a million miles away as things stand..
Before usyk went up to heavyweight I would’ve said usyk via ko but since then he’s looked poor since he’s stepped up. AJ via late stoppage
Usyk UD. For those who are saying Usyk has lost a step he still hits imo as hard and is way faster and technically better than Ruiz who as we know had AJ backpedaling and quit.
Joshua KO given his size, experience at the weight and power looks the smart bet. I think Joshua’s team are worried by this fight though. It’s high risk low reward and Usyk raises his game when it counts. Joshua’s hardest fight, on paper, since Klitschko IMO.
Was listening to the Fight Disciples podcast before. Rumours are that Usyk wants this to be a mandatory with no rematch clause. He is happy getting the 20% and confident he can get the job done and move on to the next challenge. Whereas Hearn is trying to make it a voluntary with a rematch clause but offering Usyk in the region of 33% as bait. Usyk apparently isn't interested so there is talk that Joshua will just drop the belt but we will see. I think Joshua has too much for him but you never know, Usyk is a great talent and at 6"3 isn't too small. Ruiz is 6"0 and look how he backed him up.
Ruiz had AJ backpedaling because he has real power as well as very fast hands for a HW. Usyk wasn't a puncher even at Cruiser and he isn't overly quick either, age and the extra weight haven't helped him much going by the Chisora and Witherspoon fights. Still a cracking fight and am looking forward to it more than AJ - Fury
