Joshua vs Usyk size difference.

This is true.

Two of those fighters Usyk beat in the WSB beat AJ, one via stoppage (Nistor), and the other on points (Majidov) who rocked AJ numerous times. Majidov was the reigning world amateur champion, won it again that year, and went on to win it for the third time in 2017. He was as elite as it gets at SHW when Usyk fought him and a huge puncher.

Nistor was a top SHW too and another huge banger. He knocked AJ senseless and whilst he caused Usyk problems with his relentless aggression and power punching style (ala Chisora), he was the smallest opponent in the WSB and Usyk ate some big shots of him and took them well. Usyk actually stopped both of the heaviest opponents he fought in the WSB, one of whom was 277lbs.

One of those who Usyk stopped (Brechlin) lasted the distance against AJ in the Europeans IIRC, and Hrgovic and Makhmudov in the WSB. All three of those are 6'6-ish giants and obviously huge punchers and way bigger, heavier and longer than Usyk.

Joyce had sparred countless rounds against AJ on the GB squad and was the same size and weight as AJ is now (a couple of pounds lighter) and was coming off a win over the WSB #1 ranked Hrgovic in his previous fight a month earlier and that same year Hrgovic who was still an amateur at the time was more than holding his own in sparring against a 28-0, 28 y/o Wilder in the gym and giving Haye who was preparing to face Tyson Fury hard work too and Wlad too

"Filip is extremely talented''


"He showed in the past, through his Olympic record and his professional record. I have been sparring with him and he was really, really tough, even in my best days back then.


--Wlad Klitschko

The reason Haye and Fury didn't fight is because of the cut eye he sustained against Hrgovic.

Hrgovic was clearly very good back then

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Joyce obviously isn't as skilled as AJ but he was a nightmare to fight for the vast majority of SHWs with that non stop punching, aggression, power and crazy engine of his and he beat some very good fighters both before and after facing Usyk and obviously went on to win silver at the 2016 Olympics which really should've been gold because he was robbed against Yoka as had Hrgovic been in the semi-final.

One of the others Fa had sparred AJ, was 2-2 against Parker in the ams, and lost a close apparently controversial decision to Parker in the pros. I haven't seen the fight.

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AJ has obviously improved a lot since then but Usyk did fight some very good fighters in the WSB and he was bossing Wlad in sparring and AJ is a poor man's version of Wlad.

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Problem is Usyk was a different fighter back then and was clearly faster of hand and foot, more agile, and had much sharper reflexes and reaction times whereas this slowed down stiffer version is a lot easier to hit now albeit still crafty. It's not difficult to see this if you watch him back then.

And AJ has improved in key areas after shedding the excess muscle and bulk after losing to Fat Andy. He's quicker and lighter on his feet. Usyk would cause the pre-Fat Andy II version of AJ, even the Usyk of today, absolute nightmares with his speed and footwork and counter punching because that AJ was slower and tended to telegraph his shots more whereas now he doesn't do that so much.

 

ANTHONY JOSHUA: OLEKSANDR USYK IS ONE OF THE BEST I AM FIGHTING IN MY CAREER

There are some who suggest that Oleksandr Usyk is not a legitimate threat as a heavyweight even though at cruiserweight he became the first four-belt undisputed champion in division history, cracked most top 10 pound-for-pound lists and will go down as, at worse, the second-best in the history of the weight class behind Evander Holyfield.

Three-belt heavyweight titleholder and The Ring’s No. 1-ranked heavyweight Anthony Joshua is not one of those doubters.

“He’s good. Let’s give credit where credit is due,” Joshua told a few American reporters on a video conference on Wednesday. “In boxing, we do have big egos and we try to suppress people but let’s lift him up and say he is good. He won the [2012 heavyweight gold medal at the] Olympics. He won the world championship as an amateur. He’s done the undisputed thing. His accolades would say he’s one of the best I am fighting in my career.”

Joshua, who was one division heavier than Usyk when he won the 2012 super heavyweight Olympic gold medal for Great Britain, will make the second defense of his second title reign against Usyk, the WBO mandatory challenger and The Ring’s No. 10-ranked heavyweight, on Saturday (DAZN in the U.S., Sky Box Office in the U.K.) in the main event of the first boxing event to take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, where a crowd of some 60,000 is expected. The telecast begins at 1 p.m. ET with ring walks for the main event not expected before 5 p.m. ET.

Usyk moved up to heavyweight in 2019 and has boxed just twice, in part due to a biceps injury that sidelined him and, of course, the coronavirus pandemic. In his first heavyweight fight, Usyk looked rusty but stopped Chazz Witherspoon in the seventh round in October 2019. In his second fight, Usyk won a highly competitive unanimous decision over perennial contender Dereck Chisora this past October.

Joshua (24-1, 22 knockouts), 31, discounts those who say Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs), 34, of Ukraine, is not a legitimate heavyweight.

“He’s fought heavyweights before. A full-fledged heavyweight doesn’t mean weighing like 200 kilograms or 300 pounds,” Joshua said. “It’s can you physically handle them in sparring? Can you push or shove heavyweights for 12 rounds when they’re fresh? If he’s doing that in training, he must be well-conditioned and handle the pressure of heavyweights. [His handlers] must know how he’s doing in training, so I can’t go against them.

“He got one stoppage. He stopped Chazz. That’s stopping a full-fledged heavyweight, a big guy. And his fight with Chisora was a tough one but Chisora gives a lot of guys problems. But he overcame, went 12 rounds and got the decision. Well done to him. You have to get past certain fights, no matter how they look, so you can always move on in boxing.”

Joshua was ringside for Usyk’s fight with Chisora in London to get a good look at him, knowing he might wind up facing him.

“Really good performance,” Joshua said. “I’ve been sparring Dereck for many years. It’s easy to watch people from the outside but it’s only until you get in there with them that you know what they’re about. Dereck’s a really good fighter, throwback fighter.

“It was a good 12-round fight but Dereck is a completely different fighter than I am, so I can’t take too much away from that. It was a good fight for Usyk, a rough and tough fight and he came out on top and that’s what put him in this position.”

While Joshua will have the size and power advantage, Usyk figures to be quicker and more technical. He’s also a southpaw. Joshua said he has gone to school on southpaws.

“I’ve done some really good studying. I’ve been invested in this camp,” Joshua said. “That’s important for a fighter, to be invested in his training. It’s tough but ultimately when he’s invested, he wants to train; he wants to improve and you’re at a good place with a fighter.”

Before the deal to fight Usyk was finalized in July, Joshua thought he would be fighting British countryman Tyson Fury for the undisputed championship in Saudi Arabia on August 14. The complicated deal was done but the fight did not take place because Deontay Wilder won an arbitration case he had brought against Fury in an effort to force him to honor the rematch clause that was in the contract for their second fight in February 2020 and fight him for the third time. So, they will meet for Fury’s Ring and WBC titles on October 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with the prospect of the undisputed fight between Fury and Joshua in limbo.

Fury being forced into another Wilder fight caused Joshua to suddenly change gears from thinking he would be fighting Fury for all the belts and a career-best nine-figure payday in the biggest fight in boxing to focusing on Usyk in a far smaller event for a lot less money.

Joshua, however, said he took it all in stride and is over any disappointment of having the undisputed fight fall out.

“Time. Time is the most important thing with that situation,” Joshua said. “Time is the best healer, so if I would have felt any emotions, for example, over the period of time I’ve had, I’d get over it. You need a couple of days [to] re-adjust. We had sparring partners in sparring for the Fury fight, so I had to re-adjust. And then for Usyk, it was just setting the date and having the right amount of time to prepare.

“We had in the back of our mind that this might happen because we understand – I don’t want to say anything negative – I understand how Fury operates. On any day, he can pull out of a fight, say he’s gonna fight you, doesn’t fight you. So, in the back of our mind – we had one southpaw in training, so, in a way, it wasn’t too bad and I had enough time to prepare [for the southpaw Usyk]. I’ve learned how people operate and I make sure I have myself prepared for anything in this game.”

https://www.ringtv.com/627214-antho...s-one-of-the-best-i-am-fighting-in-my-career/