There were two things that impress me the most How he managed to control the distance to attack and does not get hit, moving side to side all 12 rounds and how he took away AJ's uppercut with the bloke. I believe he had plan B and C if something did not work, but as Usyk said it was more easy that he was preparing for. Rematch would be dirty, I hope Usyk is ready for nasty low blows, holding, leaning, whestling and dirty tactics that old boxers may teach AJ. Usyk is the most clean HW that I have seen. NO BS, only pure skill with heart.
Why do people still insist on calling this an upset? It wasn't like Usyk pulled some unexpected Tokyo Douglas ish. Plenty of us were always like "yeah Usyk schools AJ"..
That is a very good video. Though i disagree with the "key takeaways" part of it. First two are much harder to learn at Joshua' s age. Though point 3 is valid. He needs to learn how to counter punch southpaws but Usyk' s speed will make it much harder and Joshua will probably randomly try to counter it, hoping one of those big right hands hit Usyk at a good spot. I think best he can do is stop trying to outbox him as everyone and their dog has said and pressure him. He would probably gas out later and get knocked out (Joshua) but that is his best chance. Body shots are important too. Usyk is the most skilled heavy right now and there is no point trying to outbox him. Just gotta do a Chisora and bum-rush him. It won't work probably but he is not outboxing Usyk so... Edit: also yes, go full Holyfield... Headbutting, elbows when throwing hooks, maybe a few low blows. Clinching and leaning on him might help as well. Not that i think there is much possibility that it works but it is his best bet.
I picked Usyk and so did almost half of this forum. This was an upset to casual fans and the media only.
Though there was an upset regarding the cards, lol. Almost everyone here thought that they would rob Usyk.
I mean was it that much of an upset? Usyk brought the level he needed and we know he has, AJ faltered as he always does. AJ should be worried because Usyk was still making some mistakes and a few tactical errors which he can fix without even trying. The best part of this fight is how AJ/Hearn had an arrogance built off Usyk's prior HW performances which were clearly not his best. The moment Usyk started coming up and under with his jab past AJ's guard whilst AJ failed to establish his jab it was game over. Rematch will be just AJ hoping he can land some power again. Hoping Usyk & Fury can get it on before one them starts to fall victim to their declining bodies. Fury will show how it's done. Step on Usyk's feet, grab hold of him and squeeze the life out of him. Make it a fight not a boxing match.
Well said, this was never going to be an easy fight for Joshua only the casuals thought so. Anyone with a boxing brain knew an upset was possible. I picked Joshua to come from behind and get a KO but even I said Usyk would be Joshua's toughest fight since Wlad and a Usyk win shouldn't be a surprise at all. This was always a very competitive match up on the cards.
Because Joshua was favored by most pundits and the money was on him. Nobody had likened it to Tyson- Douglass.
The question was if Usyk could withstand AJ's power and in the end he about had AJ out of there by KO.
I had thought Joshua would try and box but as in keep it long and attempt to counter Usyk coming in. I didn't think he would try and box Usyk at midrange. But this was no upset and i wasn't suprised Usyk took it. All you had to do was look at Joshua's fight with Savon to see that he struggled with slick movers. However i will say i didn't think Usyk would school him that bad if he did indeed take the decision. Not even the judges could save Joshua. Usyk is better than i thought. A highly intelligent operator for sure
