Wilder would never get in Ring with Usyk, he bottles it from Chisora nevermind Usyk. Parker, Joyce and Hrgovic would all make decent fights if (and it's a big if!) Usyk does lose to AJ.
I think what he's trying to say is he thinks Usyk's being spoken of as if he's still the same fighter with the same speed as at his CW prime - as this is unlikely to be the case, he's probably now being overrated. He might have a point there... I guess we'll see.
Usyk is arguably the #1 cruiserweight in history. Anything above that is just gravy. He could lose to AJ and still pound out a bunch of guys at heavy if he wanted to.
Fury gave Wilder the beating of a lifetime. Usyk is no threat by comparison. Facing Usyk would make even more sense (excluding money) if Joshua has a competitive match with him. Wilder would be looking to redeem his image by sparking Usyk out. The competition is poor though.
I don't see him outboxing Usyk either. But I do think Joshua has got high on his boxing skills since he 'reinvented' himself to beat Ruiz in the rematch. He is also desperate for people to respect him for his technical ability rather than just his physical ability. This might be his Achilles heel. If he ploughed through and stopped a blown-up CW he would gain respect because of who that blown-up CW is. But if he outboxed Usyk he would gain a lot more. AJ is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Start fast and try and walk through Usyk might indeed work, but if after six rounds or so he's not closed the show, his gas tank issue becomes more relevant - and it's what Usyk is banking on, I suspect, as he likes to drain the tanks of opponents in the first half of the fight and close the show when they have. Alternatively, a more cautious, technical approach will preserve stamina but takes the fight into the areas of boxing where Usyk is highly skilled. Pre-Wlad Joshua would have no doubts how to approach the fight but he's got mental scar tissue now and it's this which makes the fight interesting but, ironically, probably won't make for an interesting fight. Neck on the block: AJ to win on points with a lot of controversy over the decision...
I feel the same way. Hopefully Usyk doesn't get robbed. Would be nice if both came out of the fight better respected with no controversy associated with the win, regardless who gets the decision.
Usyk hold no belt, which is why I think he wanted Fury again. He loses to Fury, he loses to a champ again. Loses to Usyk, loses to a guy w/ a poor HW record. I don't think Wilder wants to face tough competition w/o the guarantee of a belt on the line.
