I hope so I actually liked it when Usyk was with Bashir because he had him boxing and moving more and not getting hit much. But I think Usyk having 5 different trainers in his last 8 fights has played a significant part in him regressing. Not sure about the trainer he's been working with in his last three fights at all. Think he might be the worst out of the bunch. I wish he'd stayed with either Papachenko or Bashir from start to finish. Yeah he put on a boxing clinic against Gassiev and totally outboxed one of the most dangerous punchers in the game. But he wasn't really sitting down on anything in that fight.
Usyk will go after Joshua and try to hurt him. He doesn't need one big shot to do that, he can land plenty.
Usyk has had a looooong time to adjust, adapt and find his ideal/perfect weight, I believe whatever weight he comes in at is a weight that he believes he can do everything at, punch hard, move, complete a hard 12 rounds. AJ fans a month ago were telling me AJ just walks through Usyk, too big, too strong, won't go 12. And they may be right, we will see.. but they are now far more concerned about Usyk than they were displaying just a month ago. I think it's seeing AJ drop that bulk, AJ is the one that's changed the most, changed his body shape and he is treating Usyk with the respect he deserves. Lots of very good judges, experts and ex pros are saying this could well be AJs toughest night as a pro and I agree with them.
Ive said this before but USYK is not coming in to play patty cake and run around the ring this time. The blue print has been there for many years he will try to do what Ward did to kovalev and what fury did to Wilder....he is a better boxer than aj so hes gonna get up in his **** and try to hit him. Will it work? i guess well find out butt AJ has a problem there is 2 Ajs the pumped up Aj with a **** cardio but god ko power who bullies people and there is the ruiz 2 Aj that comes in leaner, has a better gas tank but lacks some ko power. If usyk fights AJ 1 he may get bullied and knocked out but if he can make him work early Aj gasses and it goes down hill. If AJ comes in like verion 2 super lean and weighing less then he loses some of his ko power and usyk will probably outbox him but AJ could get the gift decision. Will be an interesting fight but either way im expecting Usyk to come to do damage early, even tyson fury suggested it himself that the Usyk we saw against chisory was a fake and just did enough to win and we will see the real usyk against a better opponent.
Ward and Kovalev were roughly of the same size, Kovalev had a slight advantage. Fury is much bigger than Wilder. Ward had a very difficult time getting close to Kovalev. I think we will see if Usyk can easily get past Joshua's jab and step away quickly after unloading. Think Joshua will box at a distance and throw in an occasional hard counter to keep Usyk honest. He will not prioritize a stoppage.
Good. A bulked up USyK means only one thing : tons of pain for the bodybuilder. USyk is no longer small, the bodybuilder will face a tank. In other threads on the fight I predicted USyK would have torn down the builder around the 8th with the 9th. But reading this thread I changed idea: now I predict a free for all, with USyK who KOes the builder after the 5th. PS: However..USyK and his staff are not fool. If they opted for that weight they did it for good reasons. Its a strategy.
I dunno why Usyk had to use Papachenko. Papachenko I think is not the man to know pro boxing game in depth at all. Papachenko I think too much believes on judges cards in pro boxing, this at first. Next? I don't see how he might teach pro boxer to beat head really enough hard, sorry for reality. He also doesn't looks that is able to teach clinchfight like bunches with other boxing coaches, again sorry. Maybe he even does not knows yet that if about judges cards then A.J isn't some not a big names and then without enough impactful promotion like Gassiev or Briedis. To box with Briedis then? This then was not under germans and this DOES matters a lot. German show, 2 boxers and I think Sauerland didn't worried who will win on cards, he just staged event in Riga cos income from live gates higher than in Kiev, no offense but reality then. Gassiev fight too the same. ( germans had signed Briedis after not before fight vs Usyk ). Now Usyk will fight vs A.J in his promoter's show where A.J is not only huge tickets seller, he is today the best tickets seller in HW division in all world. One thing where Papachenko might be ultimate A level for pros: he looks that does teach to punch body in real world elite level. There he I think is undisputed elite level trainer. Real elite with 0 doubts. For ams who want to get medals, yeah, I think it is worth to pay Papachenko huge money, he had proved that he is able to help here.
I viewed Usyks most recent training clips and he looked razor sharp. Have no worries about his mobility although sustaining a quick pace for 12 rounds will be tough.
I think no matter what he does he’s not explosive enough to win this fight, I expect him to be down on the cards when he’s stopped
I remember comments before Ruiz Jr I and II fights, A.J fans were so confident. Before fight vs Parker too the same story.
Can never understand smaller fighters doing this. Usyk’s advantage is his mobility and speed, why jeopardise that? Despite bulking up Joshua would still be stronger than him anyway. Stay around his usual weight and he has a genuine chance of winning the fight.
I also have a hard time seeing Usyk keep away from Joshua for 12 rds if he's 230. But at 215 I have a hard time seeing him have the power to keep Joshua honest.
