It seems Usyk has bulked up for the rematch, will this help him or hurt him in the fight?

If it becomes a dirty fight with lots of brawling on the inside and clinching the judges will give the rounds to AJ.
Usyk needs to sit out that storm and pick him apart in the second half.
I fully expect him to know what he is doing.

 

Opposite, he should go right after AJ, clock him early like he did in the 12th, and then with all of AJ's confidence & plans ruined and walking about like a zombie Ruiz 1-like, just break him down and finish him off. I would not drag the fight out, those judges are bought.

 

This. For all the talk of Usyk being a cruiserweight, “too small for HW” etc, he’s actually a remarkably strong man. He fended off Chisora who outweighed him with relative ease.

This is why he’s the only realistic threat to Tyson Fury, because Usyk actually has the strength to compete with Fury when the fight moves to the inside.

 

Usyk saw in the first fight that he could handle 220 pounds over 12 rounds. He will surely aim to finish before the limit this time and can afford to add 5-7 pounds.

 

Beat me to it. Just coz some random on Twitter says he looks 'huge'.

I swear, if someone had posted the same clip and said: 'Usyk looks smaller' we'd be discussing if he was planning to come in lighter for speed.

Weigh-ins are great. They deliver facts...

 

The bodybuilder has bulked up so I don't see any issues for Usyk carrying a bit more power.

 

He will come in 220ish

 

Bodybuilder will still get his ass kicked. As soon as Usyk taps him on the chin, he’ll go down faster than a $2 hooker.

 

He's probably not much bigger. He's just standing next to some skinny twinks there.

 

AJ's footwork is so poor and slow that Usyk being a little slower doesn't harm him.

AJ's stamina is so poor that Usyk having a little less doesn't harm him

Just means if Usyk needs to set himself and throw some bomb counterpunches they are more likely to hurt or get AJ off him.

 

I didn`t see many clinches at all in their first clash.

 

Tbf angles, lighting, and a pump help, though he may well have calculatingly added a few pounds for a more physical rematch and a desire to put more on his punches to stop Joshua.

Usyk and his team are sharp, intelligent people who have a methodical and professional approach to everything. Any weight gain will be appropriate and deliberate, and for the right reasons.

 

Only a handful but Usyk did work and outhustle AJ up close a few times which was hilarious to see. AJ post Ruiz panics in close.

 

Before I saw the video, I was concerned about him putting on a lot of weight. He looks fit and agile and Usyk always comes into a fight ready for 12 rounds. Against AJ, the added strength, if any, won’t hurt.

First he was too skinny, now he’s too big/muscular. I suspect by fight night he’s going to look similar to the first fight and execute a smart game plan to win the fight. A KO would be preferable but if he thoroughly outboxes and dominates the bigger man, he might get a split or majority decision.