Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua vs. Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk RBR.

Well, Joshua has never fought the best fighter in the division.

Against the current Ring top 10, he is 3-2.

Lost to Ruiz when he wasn't rated. Lost to Usyk when he was rated #10.

Stopped Whyte six years ago before he was even rated.

He decisioned Parker and Ruiz.

If he ever had the best resume in the division, he's close to falling to 3-3 against this crop.

None of them were ever the best in the division.

If Wilder beats Fury in a couple weeks, he is 3-1-1 against the current Ring top 10 and he'll be the World Champ.

If Joshua had a rematch with Whyte next, who wins? He may have lost a couple more times if he fought guys more than once after beating them. But he never rematches with top fighters unless he loses.

 

No debate from me bru

 

Commentary quote of the fight... Announcer to Roy Jones: "is AJ beginning to figure him out now Roy?"

Roy: "No, not yet"

 

Just how much energy Usyk has ? Beat the guy, danced around the ring, talking to the fans and reporters, now taking selfies with fans. Great personality

 

Casuals are in full force across all social medies.
Delusion is real
Everyone's saying AJ had the wrong gameplan. In my opinion he had the right gameplan, if he fought more aggressively he would have gassed out by round 5 and Usyk would have finished him by round 10.

You can't cope with the mental pressure Usyk applies on you, you just can't.

 

Usyk also proved tonight why the Bridgerweight is not necessary. Men at 6'3 (191 cm) with good boxing skills and stamina are still the best heavyweights in an era where huge fighters with more limited skills have been dominant. Same with Ruiz in his first fight against AJ.

 

Even an undisciplined Bowe lost the 2nd fight very controversially, there was nothing remotely controversial about this. It's a different class from any historical cruiser performance.

 

Greatest champion since Ali

 

Our on his feet? Man I don’t know what you were watching but a guy out on his feet isn’t bobbing and weaving. AJ was hurt and didn’t have anything left in his tank but he was not out on his feet or seriously hurt. When Usyk stop throwing he even stick tongue at him. He wasn’t on stool cause he was exhausted.

 

Not that it means anything particularly substantial but it speaks volumes that Briedis at CW fared better than Joshua against Usyk. And really it should have been the other way round because the size advantage was all with AJ at HW. Goes to show that he’s not the great boxer some hyped him to be. Especially after the Ruiz fight. Let’s be honest he outboxed a grossly overweight pudding that night.

 

I gave Joshua 4 rounds. I remember being solid on the 3 and one was very close so scored it to the home fighter like I expected it to be.

I honestly don't think Joshua disgraced himself. He's taking some stick regarding the tactics but not sure what more he could do. Usyk would not let him set his feet and was making him pay with the jab almost every time he tried to commit. He isn't built for roughing opponents up, he has to be cautious with the gas tank.

I do believe he should stay away from the rematch. Rebuild...follow the Klitschko model and re win the belts further down the line from a weaker opponent...but he's minted and does he really need to do that. We'll see now what kind of legacy he wants to leave.

 

AJ's stamina looked good, and he wasn't in any real danger of getting outboxed or gassing out before the final seconds of round 12. AJ boxed well, but it just wasn't good enough against a better boxer. If AJ was to have a better game plan, what should he have done. Kept the distance even greater and just jabbed, or holding and bullying Usyk whenever they go real close. AJ doesn't seem confident with holding and inside fighting. He prefers distance, and then there wasn't so much more he could do, given Usyk's high mobility, especially sideways. I think this is as good as AJ could be against Usyk. Moreover, he looked a bit nervous before the fight started, and his confidence seemed to come and go from round to round. AJ should rather let Usyk fight someone, take a fight against an easier opponent, and then decide whether he wants a rematch or fight another champ if Usyk has lost one or all belts. AJ could do better against Fury for example, or Wilder. The pace would be slower, Fury is bigger, and Wilder less skilled than Usyk as a boxer. Usyk on the other hand could fare worse against Fury than AJ.

 

Poor Usyk. he said in russian that he did not have any time with his wife for 3 months.