Joshua should win this fight. Hes bigger and Usyk doesn't have HW power. It should be Joshua by mid round KO. But what if Usyk manages to get into the late rounds? Does Joshua have the tank necessary?
On the flip side, how's Usyk's tank? It's always been good in the past, but if he's blown up in weight AND aged beyond a fairly unspecial performance against Chisora, I've got just as many question marks against Usyk as I have against Joshua. There's plenty here that's intriguing and will be interesting to have answers to!
Not a chance Usyk will have stamina problems against Joshua. Usyk will come in to the ring at his natural weight and athletes who take care of themselves are not going to show deteriorating signs of ageing in a matter of months. Usyk was a boxer who had to boil down to cruiserweight.
Usyk said that he is sparring for 20 rounds. I don't think anyone in HW can match him at stamina and speed. I think AJ should go all in for the first 5 rounds and catch Usyk with big shot. if he is not hurt at that time, AJ will lose.
Is there any past evidence that Joshua can’t go 12 rounds? And I’m sure he’ll be fully prepared for a 12 round fight. The question is can Usyk cope with a super sized heavyweight without himself struggling in the later rounds.
I've been impressed with Joshua's endurance in the later rounds. He has scored a number of knockdowns in late rounds. I don't really see either guy getting winded and not able to get a second wind. Heat isn't going to be a major factor, like it would've been if Joshua had fought in the summer in the Middle East. If anyone's legs start to give out, I think it might be Usyk. Joshua will lay on his opponents. Usyk hasn't had a lot of experience fighting 12 rounds with men who weigh 250 pounds who are also physically stronger than he is. Usyk was much younger when he was fighting the World Series of Boxing tournaments, and five rounds isn't even the halfway point in a heavyweight title fight. This fight may resemble Klitschko-Povetkin, unfortunately, with Joshua draping himself all over Usyk and scoring the occasional knockdown here and there ... as opposed to Foreman-Young, or something like that. Who knows, though. But Joshua's endurance has always seemed fine to me. If he gets gassed and can't catch his second wind, I'll be as shocked as anyone.