Usyk vs Joshua 2: A Fight for the Future

We have a lot of fights to look forward to this weekend ladies and gentlemen, we already provided a breakdown of the UFC 278 event.  Now we finish off this weekend of fights with one of the most hyped boxing matches this year – the rematch between Oleksander Usyk and Anthony Joshua. This rematch is for the WBO, IBO, IBF, and WBA (Super) heavyweight championships, and may be the biggest heavyweight fight we have left in the calendar year. With Tyson Fury going back and forth on retiring from boxing altogether and Deontay Wilder taking a bit of a step back in competition, this fight will send shockwaves through the division that will take us into 2023.

Oleksander Usyk (19-0 13KO) is one of the best boxers in the world today, and not simply due to the fact that hes a champion. He’s one of the few individuals in the modern era that was capable of making a seamless transition, moving up from dominating the cruiserweight division, to stomping with the big dogs at heavyweight. We see many fighters in the lower divisions able to move down one, up one up two to 3 divisions and win titles, but this is much less common above the middleweight division. For reference, Usyk is the third boxer in the modern era (meaning multiple titles per division), behind Evander Holyfield and David Haye, to be a unified champion at cruiserweight and win a title in the heavyweight division. If Usyk were to unify he and Holyfield would stand alone as the only men to unify cruiserweight and heavyweight. This guy is the real deal. Pun intended. With that being said, Usyk is a highly skilled boxer with great fundamentals for the game. Although this professional record is a modest 19-0, Usyk boasts over 300 amateur fights in Europe. His boxing style is built off a very solid jab and he follows a very deliberate pace in the ring unique to him. His jab is constant, he keeps a very high guard and he has excellent footwork and comfortability in the ring. His power so far has not translated from cruiserweight to his heavyweight competition, however his guile and ability have so far shown him success against 2 of the top 10 heavyweights in the world, and lead him to championship gold. 

Pre 2018, the “big 3” of the heavyweight division was Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua, and Tyson Fury. Anthony Joshua (24-2 22 KO) was one of the biggest stories in boxing. England’s best heavyweight representative since the days of Lennox Lewis, Joshua looked unstoppable as he blazed through the heavyweight division, defeating legendary figures such as Wladimir Klitschko and knocking off multiple solid heavyweight contenders along his path. His career hit its first major speed bump during his loss to the Mexican contender Andy Ruiz Jr., a TKO loss in which Joshua hit the ground multiple times. This fight prompted a stark change in Joshua’s approach, as in the rematch against Ruiz the 6’6 240 Joshua showed a very pensive style, not common to his default aggressive knockout seeking style. He ended up winning that bout by Unanimous Decision, but Joshua failed to win the fans back against Ruiz, and for good reason. Following that bout, a solid knockout victory over Kubrat Pulev as his first title defense showed a bit of a return to form. Joshua was able to physically dominate Pulev, and pummeled him for 3 knockdowns before the eventual knockout in roung 9. This put him right back in the fray to battle the newest Heavyweight contender at the time, Oleksander Usyk. Joshua was thoroughly outclassed in this first match, in terms of speed and overall boxing ability, but this fight feels different. 

Even though it’s relatively early in his boxing career, this seems like a legacy match for Anthony Joshua. This match will prove if he is the real deal and could have went toe to toe with Fury and Wilder or if he is just a good boxer. And for Usyk, in the aftermath of Tyson Fury’s shocking retirement, does he have what it takes to be the undisputed best heavyweight in the world? Usyk recently stepped away from the sport as a native Ukrainian, and spent some time with the troops some months ago. He says he’s going into the match to represent his people and give hope during this turbulent time in the country’s history. We have a lot to look forward to tonight in a huge heavyweight bout. My prediction is Oleksander Usyk by Unanimous Decision. I believe Usyk will approach this fight the same as the first bout. He is aa better boxer than AJ, objectively. They even came into the bout at the same weight from the first, Usyk will be giving up about 20 pounds but as a natural cruiserweight it wouldn’t make sense for him to come in huge looking to stand and bang. Usyks feel for the sweet science and his commitment to representing his country during this time will elevate him to another masterclass. Expect Usyk to become the unified champion in 2023.