Usyk vs Joshua: I think both sides are overstating their cases a bit

First off, I am a fan of both of these guys, because they are something that we don't have a lot of these days: fighting champions. Secondly, I am excluding Wilder from this equation because he is so obviously a manufactured fraud whose name does not deserve mention with these two.

Now, two narratives have developed about this fight. One is that Usyk is one of the most talented men to step in the ring, and Joshua will not find him with a Geiger counter. The other is that Joshua is the Hulk and Usyk is the proverbial puny army man who will be smashed.

Either of these could be right, but they are on their face both partially wrong. Judging by the Gassiev fight, in which Murat did not win a consecutive ten seconds, when Usyk is on, he is on. Usyk was like a humming bird, hovering tantalizingly in front and then a million miles away in less than the blink of an eye. The thing is, though, he isn't always like that. Tonight, he did not even seem to fight for a few rounds. I felt that he very solidly beat Briedis, but lost about four rounds. It is tempting to say that he fights to the level of his competition, but we'll see. If Briedis and Bellow can hit him, than so can Joshua. BUT...

So what? Usyk fought WSB pro-style fights against Joyce, Medzihidov and Nistor, and took their shots just fine. He has a heavyweight chin, and a damn good one at that. What is more, obviously Joshua hits like a truck, but just as Usyk's boxing ability seems to jump around a bit, it can be said that other fighters looked more powerful than Joshua against Takam and Parker. So maybe it will not be the hardest Usyk has ever been hit.

Usyk is a solid 6'3" and will be able to walk in at 220 no problem.

This is going to be a great fight between two true champions who do not hide behind their belts. May the better man win!