I cant imagine a scenario (outside of a lucky shot) where Usyk loses the rematch in reality. But on the cards I could easily see it. The fight was even on the cards after 8. A British judge had it 115-113. All the close rounds go to Joshua. If it's a lean Usyk round then the judges give it to Joshua. The only way Usyk can win on points is to beat the ever living dog **** out of AJ. Which he did and then still didnt receive fair cards. So if Joshua marginally improves and can "lose" a lot closer I wouldnt be surprised if he gets the robbery. Remember AJ is Hearns cash cow. We are talking hundreds of millions of dollars of future revenue will go down the drain if Usyk gets the decision again the rematch. Think of how much Hearn is about to bribe the judges with. I mean FFS, they rang the bell early as AJ was on the verge of stoppage loss. AJ only needs to be somewhat competitive to win on points. Usyk has to deliver an absolute ass kicking.
Before the fight, I said I think this will be a Canelo-Golovkin type fight where Usyk deserves the win but it’s competitive, and they save AJ with a draw or SD. I was happy to be wrong. If this fight happens in Ukraine, they won’t have the chance to rob Usyk. He dominated AJ. The question becomes: “what can AJ change?” Usyk will not come in untrained and overweight like Ruiz. AJ’s only hope is to go for the KO, period. He does nothing better than Usyk aside from hit harder. Anything can happen but Usyk will beat him again. I doubt there will be an opportunity to rob him.
Usyk won't take a risk idiot. He didn't KO bodybuilder because of his corner. This time he will fight to kill bodybuilder. 115-113 was bullsh*t.
Problem with this is - this is basically the same thing you could have said for the first fight, and it was probably Usyk's team that prevented it from happening. The Ukrainian judge wasn't there by chance, neither was the (presumably neutral) American. Usyk should have even more power going into the rematch to control the politics of the fight. They should have at least two Ukrainian judges this time imo.
Even as a Joshua fan I struggle to see him winning the rematch. He just doesn't have the cardio to keep Usyk off him for 12 rounds. So he can't dance and pot shot his way to a points win, which is what I thought in the first fight. I give him a punchers chance.
Usyk fought Joshua in his home Country for the belts so only fair that the rematch should be held in Usyk’s home Country. Hearn has already stated that the rematch won’t be in Ukraine but the Klitschkos are trying to get the rematch in Ukraine in a 70,000 stadium.
Did you see the damage AJ put out on him with just a couple of lead right hands? Usyk will have to weather a storm this time but once he sails through it the bodybuilder will be fresh for the taking. AJ isn't a good chaser, Whyte can't chase at all. They both like to think they can chase anyone down but that 20ft ring feels like a football pitch with someone like Usyk.
Agree with the OP and i already made a thread about the garbage scorecards on the first fight. Sorry but, anything other than 117-111 was biased towards Joshua. No way he won more than 3 rounds. 115-113 was a robbery incoming if Joshua was showed up in the 12, or at least not act as a completely loser after the final bell. What i don't agree is about the bell rang earlier. It was not. It was a clock error. You can use chronometer to check it out, but i already did, and from the start to finish it was exactly 3 minutes, so it was all fair. Usyk team also commented on this, and say they check it as well, and it was display error.
Wouldn’t surprise me at all if it goes left-field and ends up in the Middle East again like the Ruiz rematch money talks
Actually some good points here, maybe like some of the folks who have done a u-turn on Usyk given how dominant he was, I shouldn't be doing a complete u-turn on the judging simply because they got it right this time. I was one of the ones that didn't think Usyk would get a decision in the UK and needed a KO. It would just take AJ to be more busy and simply throw shots to give the perception of being more competetive - a couple of rounds more even - a few more bodyshots such that Usyk isn't quite as energetic in the championship rounds as we was - plus the whole AJ couldn't see thing. There is plenty of scope for Usyk to still win the rematch but lose it on the cards for sure!