Do you think Joshua's rematch clauses hurt him in his career?

No but I think it hurt him because he should have spent time rebuilding.

 

I never thought of it like that but I guess it could have.

I might be in the minority but I actually thought he looked pretty good in both Usyk fights. Just not good enough.

 

I doubt it, what top level athlete goes in even thinking they could lose, that kind of mindset would be detrimental to most elite sportsmen, especially in a combat sport, if you have that seed of doubt going in, you've basically already lost.

 

Ruiz was completely different to Usyk. Ruiz was a late replacement for Miller the king of dope. Usyk is superior at boxing to AJ and 9 out of 10 times AJ would lose. So that being said and them being the only occasions he has had a rematch, the answer would be NO.
If Fury is not retired and a Fight eventually materialises with AJ then that would be another loss for AJ, he just does not have the skill set to deal with him.

 

What a weird way of spinning AJ into a victim.
The rematch clauses are unfair 'A-side' tactics that protect these fighters massively.
If AJ didn't have them, he would be in a far worse position. He likely wouldn't have easily got back the belts Ruiz won, who knows where they'd end up. That makes it harder to 'A-side' other fighters after that. Maybe he actually has to fight in their 'backyard' and doesn't get the rematch with Usyk etc.
Look at Whyte. If he hadn't had the corrupt clause with Povetkin, Povetkin would have fought Fury instead.

 

No, rematches are a good thing and something most fans appreciate, not just match room boxers but all boxers.

They encourage champions to take risks, knowing they will be able to go it again if they lose, and also its something most fans will criticise if they're not done.

Lewis is known as great and a huge part of that is beating everyone he's fought. Those who do not avenge their losses are often criticised historically speaking.

Boxing isn't like UFC, you can become a "champion" without ever fighting the best or challenging yourself, we need something to at least encourage the top guys to fight each other and rematches are one of the tools to do that.

 

No. A lot of times when a fighter and there's no rematch clause is in place they run like Bolt from the a rematch. Look a Douglas/Tyson, Lopez/Loma, Hagler/Leonard, when the winner just took the belts and ran

 

He is miles ahead of Ruiz and didnt take him seriously the first time. Rematching Ruiz was the right idea because most people knew he'd beat Ruiz in the rematch.

Against Usyk he was simply outclassed and he shouldn't have taken the rematch, losing to Usyk once and getting other big fights would have hurt him less, its easy to say after the fact though

 

Nah, not at all. It's not unique to AJ.

 

There is a flip side to the "half-ass" theory, which is that having a rematch clause made AJ feel more confident and reduced pressure, knowing he would get another bite at the cherry if he lost.

Would AJ have done better if he had to travel to Ukraine, with the officials on Usyk's side and no rematch clause? I think that would have been very detrimental for AJ tactically (he'd have to chase the fight more to score points and wouldn't be able to get away with so many fouls) and psychologically (look what happened the only time AJ fought an opponent in their backyard). AJ probably would have been stopped: he would have gassed out a couple of rounds earlier and the referee would have been quicker to jump in to give Usyk the TKO.

Why do you think Hearn immediately shot down the idea of the rematch being in Ukraine after AJ lost in September 2021? Because he knew that would almost certainly work against AJ.

There are some valid reasons why a rematch clause can backfire against the A-side fighter, just as home advantage theoretically can. But on balance, it's much better to be the clear A-side and home fighter with a rematch clause than to be the opposite.

 

No, as need for the A side to have to utilise the rematch clause means they have a

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on their record.

Rematch clause is a financial safety so the money keeps rolling in at least for another bout.

AJ lost to Ruiz due to AJ and majority of folk not believing Ruiz was capable, he lost to Usyk as Usyk was the better fighter and strategist, rematch clauses played no part in how initial bouts turned out.

 

They certainly didn't hurt his bank account.

 

AJ kicked ruiz's ass in the rematch

He did much better against Usyk than in the first fight

AJ's rematch clauses have only helped him...

 

No they have helped to keep him near the top of the game, in title fights he wouldn't otherwise have.