Anthony Joshua (WBA, IBF, WBO & IBO) vs. Oleksandr Usyk (18-0) - September 25th 2021
3 reading
61697
41 - 60 of 644 Posts
Joined
·
8,147 Posts
I hate that decision, but there would be a certain amount of karma to it.
Leading to the option of Fury vs. Usyk...
He was never going to fight Joshua
Usyk played a blinder by getting Bellew and raising his profile, but then signing with Matchroom without some stipulation in the contract about fighting Joshua was a mistake, cos otherwise Hearn never had any intention of making the fight
In every interview Hearn subtly plays down Usyk as a heavyweight. He'll be doing the same thing in all the negotiations with Usyk and his team. He even blamed his bicep injury on him having to spar heavyweights now and it would take him time to adjust. As if the fact that Usyk has fought and beat heavyweights his whole career, never mind sparred, was just wiped from history.
He would have gone in there in his first fight and completely humiliated AJ, got all the belts and then be down as the GOAT. But now the thrill of watching someone do that has been taken away from us.
At the speed of boxing these days, giving Usyk a few pointless warm up fights just translates to 2-3 years stalling tactics.
Usyk played a blinder by getting Bellew and raising his profile, but then signing with Matchroom without some stipulation in the contract about fighting Joshua was a mistake, cos otherwise Hearn never had any intention of making the fight
In every interview Hearn subtly plays down Usyk as a heavyweight. He'll be doing the same thing in all the negotiations with Usyk and his team. He even blamed his bicep injury on him having to spar heavyweights now and it would take him time to adjust. As if the fact that Usyk has fought and beat heavyweights his whole career, never mind sparred, was just wiped from history.
He would have gone in there in his first fight and completely humiliated AJ, got all the belts and then be down as the GOAT. But now the thrill of watching someone do that has been taken away from us.
At the speed of boxing these days, giving Usyk a few pointless warm up fights just translates to 2-3 years stalling tactics.
Joined
·
1,186 Posts
I would really love to see Usyk v Wilder, I would love to see Usyk try to disarm the Wilder right hand, he has the footwork to stand Wilder on his head. The worst matchup for him will be Fury, though it is highly unlikely they ever fight, it would be a real stinker
If AJ beats Ruiz and therefore doesn't retire I think he beats Usyk if it's in the next 12-18 months. Later and Usyk gets some good wins (PArker? Whyte? Ruiz?) then it becomes more of a 50/50 fight. I just think AJ's power will be too big a step up for Usyk, I think he has a better chance with Fury as he doesn't have the power to KO him. Wilder is a more difficult one, Usyk would massively outbox him but whether he could avoid getting tagged for the whole fight. That really depends how much power Usyk has up at HW.
Joined
·
5,410 Posts
Great analysis
How would Usyk getting random wins over bums in the Heavyweight division make it more likely he will beat Joshua? How will those wins improve his chances?
He's had close to 400 fights. The only people that think he needs 'warm ups' to 'adjust' to the heavyweight division are those who have vested interests in keeping him away from their fighters until he's 35+.
He would have dominated Joshua, will dominate Wilder outside of a hail mary punch, and will probably do better than we think vs. Fury
Joined
·
27,599 Posts
I think you might've drank too much CaskAle today. Why not try a Miller Lite next time, bud?
Joined
·
1,732 Posts
Glad that ended up not being the case.
Talk about just giving someone a belt!
He could be mandatory for 900 days. He won't be allowed to fight Joshua
Allowed by who? EH?
Joined
·
2,268 Posts
Who do you think? Matchroom.
Joshua is the golden goose. IF he gets his titles back from Ruiz they'd never willingly put him in with Uysk.
Ok. Maybe but Usyk is with Matchroom too. They wouldn't lose the belts, although I guess Usyk wouldn't have the draw to fill UK stadia.
Joined
·
276 Posts
I wouldn't be sure about that... There was plenty cheering for Usyk when he beat Bellew in Manchester... I think they could easily do a stadium fight for Joshua v Usyk.
41 - 60 of 644 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
