Less than a week to go. My guess Kuzmin wins although I don't care too much for Kuzmin ( he looks like the type who would gun down his estranged wife and her entire family )
Kuzmin will win by KO or wide UD. Mansour looked really really bad against Washington, Brezaele and Kauffman and he just isn't good. I think too many are overlooking Kuzmin as a legit prospect. I bet that most trainers and boxers are picking Mansour because they don't know anything about Kuzmin who was European gold and silver medal winner and had a close fight with Joshua in amateurs and according to his manager he actually won that fight, so ignorance is the key here. But don't make mistake about it, this will be Kuzmin's coming out party. Kuzmin is a master at counterpunching and pressure and this will be something which Mansour won't be able to overcome.
It's a shame that Mansour is 45 years old. He would have been a top contender or even a belt holder if he wasn't in jail in his prime years. Heavy hands, very fast and explosive style would cause anyone problems. He had bad luck against Breazeale that he bit through his tongue. Could have deserved a win against Washington too. And he knocked Steve Cunningham out in round 5, but the referee let Cunningham recover with a 25-seconds count after the knockdown. He was in complete control against Kauffman. I still think this is a 50/50 fight with Kuzmin, but if Mansour was 5-10 years younger he would have knocked Kuzmin out early on...
Based on what I have seen Kuzmin is better than some Ring Magazine top 10 people at heavyweight. He should win here and put himself on the radar. Naysayers will point out Mansour's age, but the truth is Kuzmin could beat either Wilder or Parker, and would be Joshua's toughest test outside of Wlad.
Haven't seen enough of Kuzmin to be sure but if he is a legitimate top 20 heavyweight he should win without too much trouble. Mansour is a solid gate keeper but I'll to Kuzmin
Kuz does have a brutal right hand. Probably not very many people on the planet could withstand taking a couple of them.
Another gift Joshua got as an amateur. He's always been a child of privilege who looked the part so he got and continues to get every conceivable advantage. Even gets to spew racial superiority doctine with no consequences.
Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. It’s not “a shame” that an outright criminal had to spend time behind bars. Justice is not “a shame.” Given a second chance on parole, he violated conditions and got that parole revoked and sent back to prison for violating terms of his release. Thug. Life.
I suppose 9 years away means Mansour is fresher than most boxers of his era that went through camps and contests. Kuzmin reminds me of Kownacki, Ruiz, Gorman and others. Chunky white bangers.