British heavyweight, ex-two-time unified world champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) suffered a second consecutive defeat against Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) over the weekend – WBA Super, IBF and WBO titles were at stake .
The compatriot of the defeated ex-lightweight champion Anthony Kroll, whom Ukrainian fans remember from the duel with Vasily Lomachenko (2019, L KO 4, reportage),
shared his opinion on Joshua’s performance: “I think there were a lot of improvements from Anthony in the rematch. The fight was fantastic. The only pity is that we are talking a lot more not about the fight itself, but about what happened after it. Joshua gave a great 9th round. But then Usyk did what great champions should do – he bit the bit, went out and put a bullet in the fight. He showed why he is a future member International Boxing Hall of Fame“.
Krolla believes that “Joshua can record this fight as an asset. Despite the loss, he has many options to continue his career. Everyone remembers very well that he had just signed an agreement with
streaming DAZN. So he will continue, no doubt. I think it will be a little easier for him. After all, the pressure is gone. He’s in some sort of recovery process right now. There is nothing shameful in defeating a great fighter.”
Directly in the options: “If we are talking about the local level, then there is Dillian Whyte. I know that Derek Chisora was also mentioned. There are other top names as well. I know that Zhang Zhilei is often remembered, who has his own backstory with Joshua (controversial defeat at the 2012 Olympics), who, according to many, did not lose in the eliminator to Filip Hrgovic. I think it would be a big fight.”
It is interesting that approximately the same names (but not only and not in such a sequence) were voiced by us in the material of Joshua after Usyk: when and with whom is the next fight? All options.
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