Yes. Gatekeeper, I think the stamina advantage is significant. Joshua can't go 12 active rounds, under pressure. You'd be lucky if he could do 6. As I said earlier, his physique is not designed to carry that 240lbs and he has been as high as 250. That will not change at this stage of his career and his stamina will only continue to suffer as a result. He likes to take rounds off and Usyk should not let him do that. I don't think Usyk is stupid, so that will be interesting. Usyk's footwork is simply sensational, so he is well ahead in that regard and of course this dovetails with his superior agility, engine and intelligence. I also think he has superior defence. Usyk has a unique way of evading punches, and it sometimes looks untidy, but he uses his head, knees and waist to good effect and a lot of the time takes blows to the arms and gloves. Usyk is someone who doesn't seem to mind taking a flurry, rolling with some punches and evading others, if it means that he can let his opponent punch himself out or respond with a counter. People often spoke about Ruiz doing damage at close range, which he did, but Usyk is also very good at close range and can throw to the body and head in 3, 4 or 5 punch spurts. The difference is that Usyk seems more content for these punches to be "scoring punches" as opposed to damaging ones. And I think he will need the latter - but as said, it doesn't take that much to send Joshua's head spinning and for him to do the funny dance.
What from this? 3 Borats from U.K had traveled to fight with Canelo and their first language was english language. How cool they had looked, like true A.J dublicates vs Panda Daddy. Be proud.
Will be interesting to see how Usyk reacts when he gets nailed for the first time by a right hand from AJ You make some good points though and I don't deny Usyk has a very real chance in this, Joshua is far from unbeatable
I think Usyk will get hit hard at some point so who knows how that will go. He is quite tough. Joshua has fast hands and will keep throwing if Usyk is hurt, but i fear a referee stepping in early or something while Usyk takes blows to the gloves etc. I think that in these big bouts a boxer should be given the chance. I didn't like the Klitschko Joshua stoppage, because although Klitschko was hurt, he wasn't taking any clean shots at the time of the stoppage. It would have been interesting to have seen if the referee would've stepped in had Klitschko done a similar thing when he had Joshua hurt. Usyk can look really weird and ragged when he covers up but it is effective. If Marcus McDonnell or Howard Foster are announced to referee (or judge) I might scan the bookies to see how much a Joshua TKO will be in the later rounds. It's a shame that the only concern I have for this bout is officiating and judging. Boxers and fans shouldn't have to harbour these concerns. Aside from that, I think it will be a great and interesting bout.
I think the Fury fight would have been much better for AJ.. a lot of people would think he is the underdog, he has something to prove still after the Ruiz loss and for his probably still slightly fragile mindset it would have worked well for him to really go and show everyone how good he is.. I think that fight is a genuine 50 /50. With Usyk, I think Chisora was the worst opponent for him - a big lump just charging at him until he ran out of steam and he still dealt with him way easier than Parker did.. AJ will be expected to win against Usyk but also being in the UK will be expected to put on a show.. when remembering the last time AJ was meant to put on a show and then was bounced around the ring by a little blob, than was super cautious in the rematch against the blob and then was just OK against a past it Pulev... I just think Usyk will get all them demons going again and then drown him.. I honestly think Usyk could stop him later on or will run away with it and win on points, he is really special and nobody knows how to beat the man, will be really tough for AJ. I would fancy Usyk to have dealt with all AJs opponents, he would beat people like Pulev or the semi shot version of Povetkin when he fought AJ.
Chisora didn't respect Usyk's skills and just tried to rough him up but there's no way Joshua follows the same approach. He is much more cautious and meticulous so we can't just say that just because Joshua is a better fighter than Chisora that that means he will walk through Usyk. Chisora is reckless and prepared to take punishment to land his own...Joshua has much more self preservation than that. Usyk is a very clever fighter with great ring IQ who knows how to make his opponents work really hard but Joshua is a clever lad too and can set traps. The one he set up on Povetkin was beautiful. Joshua will have to come in light and ready to work for 3 minutes a round but if he beats Usyk he deserves all the credit.
Probably true tbh. Still think he,d still be a bigger test than usyk. I m one of usyks biggest fans as well...but the heavyweight jump up is an especially hard one to make. If you cant move...ortiz could turn into a nightmare opponent. Big, strong can punch...great at countering the lead. Not convinced joshuas a great mover regardless of the ruiz 2 fight. It was more. Punch the smaller man then move to the other side of the ring to do the same thing again. That,ll get found out against a guy of similar size....that can cut off a ring etc.
Who had andy ruiz beaten before dethroning joshua. Did you watch that jennings fight. Jennings led off....he actually outpunched ortiz by a considerable margin and still ended up battered by 7 rounds. Its not that ortiz is overated its more that his style is a flawed one. The guys that know that have avoided him...hes left fighting guys that his style struggles with. He was carefully picked by wilders team. A good name...wilders first real good name. But they knew he struggled with guys that can move. Wilder can move...if you watch him close enough...hes actually pretty good at keeping a gap between him and his opponent. By backing off when the opponent goes forward and having that big right hand to deter the opponent from closing the gap too much. It was a bad match up for ortiz. As i said ortiz has that flawed cuban style that relies on the opponent leading off. If he can get you to lead off...he,ll make you pay for it tho. Joshuas not a great mover...goes backwards too slowly to be a great mover. Will force him too punch with ortiz...thats where he can really hurt the opponent. The problem ortiz has had is hes been fighting guys that can either move or guys that dont have skillset/ambition to lead off against him. Scuba steve, wilder, dave allen. Put him in against the right opponent...people will stop calling him overrated. Probably too late for him now...but still think he,d be a bigger challenge than usyk. Who,s a terrific fighter...just not a terrific heavyweight.
Pretty spot on. Everyone saying “Joshua needs to put on a show”, it’s not gonna happen lol you think he’s risking the Fury fight by trying to blast out a skilled operator like Usyk. It’ll be cagey, tense and it’ll be intriguing.
The guys hes fighting all have better chins than joshua. No one in the last few years has came out having an easy night against chisora. Joshuas defence is basically trying to keep the middle ground....covering up. Waiting to bounce forward with his own attack. That defence is an accident waiting to happen against chisora. Hes backed up everyone hes fought in recent years. Usyk, whyte, parker. And all three of them back up better than joshua.
Yet i guarantee usyk will be the more tired of the two when they fight. People severly underestimate the difference that extra size weight and height/reach makes. Even just looking at the mayweather v paul fight the other night. Mayweathers done by all means but that extra weight...made it a bit of a fight. Joshuas staminas not as bad as people believe. He actually has good stamina for a guy of his size. His problems with stamina have always came via getting tagged. If you look back over it...the whyte fight, the klitchko fight....the ruiz fight. All came from being tagged. His stamina goes when hes hurt. Without hurting him tho his staminas actually pretty decent. Done 12 comfortably against both ruiz and parker. Its a myth his stamina goes without hurting him. Usyk will struggle with the size/reach and weight of joshua...for him to be effective like he always is...will lead to him tiring out first i bet. You,ll see him backing up a lot...and needing to work to hard to get joshua working. Its a big ask getting in range of the bigger man and bigger puncher continually trying to get him working without taking too much damage back. I almost guarantee usyk will end up the more tired of the two when they fight.
The last thing I wanted to watch after the final bell of AJ vs Ruiz JR 2 was a trilogy fight. Once AJ decided to box him at a distance Ruiz just didn't have an answer. We have two fights to go on, in one AJ looked in control before underestimating his opponent and rushing in to finish a job and getting clipped and a second where he comfortably dealt with him in a boring no risk style. Ruiz has done nothing since to suggest he deserves another crack, certainly not to delay fights with other guys who may put up a stiffer challenge. Maybe. I don't know whether it was 'because he was in the USA' that seems unlikely, but sure, maybe that was the reason. I think in your case there seems to be a level of personal antipathy to the guy though, maybe that's clouding your judgment somewhat?
