Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua vs. Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk - IB's standalone RBR scorecard

Alright, alright, alright, already.

I've been having a not so great week; had hoped to watch it live but that didn't work out (had a glance at the ring walks, and a couple of minutes of I think maybe round 9 on my phone, but things were pretty chaotic that day) and have wanted to wait until there was an hour of calm & quiet to devote to it...which is now, finally.

 

Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua vs. Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk, 12 rounds @ heavyweight

 

Yo, when is the last time a world title challenger got PYRO? Like, an excessive amount even by Wrestlemania standards.

...and why is The Cat wearing a spaceman helmet? Oh well, cool walkout song.

 

AJ's song...not as cool. Also, you're making your stooges carry your belts so you can weakly shadowbox at the fans? Wtf is that? Carry them $hits proudly, man, you're the partially-unified HW champ of the world.

Oh my...the flaming first letters of his name, "No Easy Way Out" by Robert Tepper, eight foot high sparklers? This is the most fabulously gay thing I've seen since my last Pride march.

 

Alright, we got Buff Daddy on the mic, this is a legit big event. Just wish this wasn't the same timeline where HBO boxing hasn't been a thing for the last three years. I'm never going to be a fan of DAZN, for one simple reason. Their name is just too dumb. It'll never cease to be dumb and odiously cringe, to me. Can't get onboard with them. Hope they fail in the long-term. Also hope somehow boxing ends up back on HBO in my lifetime. Preferably with Jim Lampley on play by play again, if he's still alive.

Here we go, first bell.

 

Round 1

Joshua is pushing out a feeler jab. Usyk just batting it aside with multiple quick thrusts of his southpaw jab. Usyk employing lateral movement and kneading his right fist into Joshua's left wrist, making sure the bigger man's jab stays home & holstered. Usyk not scoring yet with anything, but flooding his jab in, thrown in greater volume and with more sharpness, to keep Joshua's neutralized by pecking constantly against his arm. Joshua tries the first big power punch of the round, a right cross down between the gloves, grazing the chin of Usyk as he's shifting his weight to his rear foot, so not very emphatic. Usyk then maneuvers around Joshua, diverting his attention with some right up-jabs before zapping him with a left cross, slightly more flush than Joshua caught him. Double jab by Usyk, then a right hook off the jab dashing to Joshua's left flank. 1-2 by Joshua, ducked, countered with a spanking hook by the kidney from Usyk. Joshua keeps plunging down with a lazy left jab, with Usyk slicing into his ulnar artery with his right. Another flush straight line drive left on the nose by Usyk.

10-9 Usyk

 

Round 2

Joshua is following Usyk around the ring, still pushing the left jab out very slowly but doing so at least in doubles now, and even stringing together a four-piece combo, 1-1-2-3, as he and Usyk drift on a collision-course above the William Hill logo at center ring, but Usyk positions his guard to more than halfway deflect all four shots. Usyk keeping a buoyancy in his step, allowing him to lower his stance and get under Joshua's jabs, or catch them on his steepled gloves and push them upwards out of harm's way. Usyk using lots of movement, confusing Joshua, occasionally springing up on his toes for a reach-down right hook off the double jab or a southpaw 1-2, never getting too greedy and immediately resuming his circular movement pattern every time he scores.

10-9 Usyk

20-18 Usyk

 

Round 3

Joshua continues to be frustrated with the stuffing of his left jab by Usyk's right. Usyk able to get off first and get out before Joshua can react, stinging him with a left hand driving through with his rear shoulder before dropping away to roll out the side door and reset at medium-long range. Joshua seems a little put off by the fact that Usyk can reach him without selling out and standing directly in front of him (Joshua's reach is 82", Usyk's 78"). Usyk is making Joshua bite on feints with that right hook that he spent the first couple of rounds programming in as expected response behind the double jab, and then punishing Joshua with a straight left instead. Joshua hurt and wobbled! Joshua does the old Wladimir Klitschko push-pole trick (holding a fully extended jab out stationary) to survive.

10-9 Usyk

30-27 Usyk

 

Round 4

Usyk picks up where he left off and blasts an off-balance mis-stepping Joshua with a left hand sending him clear into a corner from the middle of the ring. Joshua is jabbing very lightly, almost uncertainly, but picking up the pace a little, rowing them out in multiples to spackle up all the quiet spaces left by Usyk while circling and watching for spots, waiting to counter. Usyk's arms catching nearly all of Joshua's weak left jabs like flypaper. Usyk now timing Joshua, coming up from a crouch and reaching behind the left arm to bang into his ear with a right hook. Joshua is pushing in some right hand leads, but Usyk is able to ride them out with the low tide, sinking at the knees and then boomeranging in with pesky right jabs as Joshua is retracting.

10-9 Usyk

40-36 Usyk

 

Round 5

Joshua is giving Usyk a slight taste of his own medicine now, backing away, tilting himself a few degrees around, or moving his arms to intercept whenever Usyk jabs. Joshua waiting, being defensive, looking to counter with his left jab - but Usyk too clever working his way in, throwing away right jabs, then slipping Joshua's left and slashing with hooks at the brow. Joshua with a few body shots thumped in low as they circle in close. Joshua follows up with a flush right hand lead a few moments later. Usyk adjusts his footwork, changing directions a few times, slipping a few jabs and tapping back at Joshua...who gets through with another right.

10-9 Joshua, very close (only close round yet, actually)

49-46 Usyk

 

Round 6

Joshua is swinging his bent left arm on an internal/external rotation swivel to screen out the alternating threat of jabs & hooks from Usyk's right hand. Nice body jab by Joshua. Usyk is using lots of body feints, but Joshua not biting. Usyk lands a jab just over the knuckles of Joshua's left glove. Usyk dodges a Joshua right hand by stepping back and pivoting his back leg away. Usyk is being walked down by a stream of Joshua jabs, although none are landing. Both men feinting and jabbing, Joshua gaining ground, being the ring general. Usyk not countering as much as he did early on, and standing still for a few moments, letting Joshua clip him with a lunging left hook past the jab, and then a flush right hand down the pipe, a good one too, a would-drop-if-not-KO-most-natural-heavyweights-one. Usyk taking a round off here, certainly in the last half-minute seeming to have written it off, sunk cost, mostly "scampering around" as one of the commentators says.

10-9 Joshua

58-56 Usyk

 

Round 7

Joshua jabs aggressively at the head and tries converting a left hook off the jab. Joshua very confident bossing his way in, until Usyk catches and counters with a jolting left. Usyk is ducking or windshield-wiping all of Joshua's jabs now, and firing up at his chin with quick right jabs (sometimes tickling his throat when Joshua stands up to full height), hooks and the occasional left. Joshua gets in a body shot. Double axing left hand up top by Usyk chases Joshua into a deep backward lean. They circle and jab, Joshua's feet become knotted up with Usyk's and he is rocked by a left. 1-2 by Usyk reaching up & in. Joshua rolls with the shots, but is getting licked here, his body language deflated after seeing his momentum from the previous couple of rounds snatched away. Very little motivation from him in the closing seconds before the bell, much like Usyk late in the 6th appearing to acknowledge defeat in this one.

10-9 Usyk

68-65 Usyk

 

Round 8

Joshua is jabbing at the head, slow & steady. Usyk keeping up the head movement but looking almost...bored? He takes a deep heaving breath, almost impatient with the light spar Joshua is making of this at mid-range. Or maybe he's needing a breather, although we're literally just seconds past the bell and they just had their minute stool break so you'd think stamina wouldn't be an issue just now. Joshua is looping some right hands around the guard and uppercutting Usyk's body while walking him down. Usyk having another period of letting Joshua lead and not giving him too many receipts, as in the sixth. Usyk does rattle off some combinations, but they aren't his most organized work and Joshua is able to pick them off while coming forward. Another uppercut on the belt line from Joshua. Usyk dancing around jabbing but takes another meaty body shot just before the bell.

10-9 Joshua

77-75 Usyk