Expert Gareth Davies believes that Ukrainian heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) has “reeled” solidly before the rematch with Briton Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs).
The fight will take place on August 20 in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), at stake will be the WBA Super, IBF and WBO titles, which the Ukrainian took away from his opponent in September in London (England).
Usyk-Joshua: MythBusters – battle representation from vRINGe
“As you yourself could see, Usyk got mad. So he’s ready for a shootout, –
suggests Davis. – An interesting point is that in the first fight, Joshua had a couple of successful moments when he worked on Usyk’s body in the middle of the fight. I do not rule out that the Ukrainian felt those blows. Perhaps Usyk decided that in the second fight, Joshua will try to work even more solidly on the body and start doing it from the start. The mustache really looks denser in the torso area. No, I will not be led by the fact that he gained 20 kilograms. Absolutely not, because it doesn’t make any sense. But I won’t be surprised if he tries to return punches from the start in order to calculate Joshua and catch him.
“I spoke with Joshua’s new coach Robert Garcia,” the expert continues. “He says they’ll bet on smart pressing and don’t mind making the fight a little messy. They want to get the forgotten bestial instincts from the depths of Joshua. And this must be done at the very beginning of the fight. So the first rounds this time will be even hotter. No, I do not think that the fight will go the whole 12-round distance. Lots of questions about Joshua. Did that defeat hurt his superego? Was there still hunger in him? Did he disappear due to increased popularity and fabulous fees? I believe that somewhere in the depths all this is still burning in him. But after all, on the contrary, there will be not just a slippery left-hander, but also a person for whom the upcoming fight is even more solid. For him, this fight is more than just boxing.”
The expert admits that “in the event of a defeat, Joshua may well end his career. I do not see anything terrible in these words of Johnny Nelson. He didn’t say that Joshua need end your career if you lose, right? He said that Anthony, in the event of a defeat, may need time to recover again physically, psychologically and mentally. Usyk is the favorite, no doubt. But no one argues that in the first fight, Joshua just had a bad day. Personally, I don’t think Joshua will retire after this fight. He has too many great options: Deontay Wilder, a rematch with Dillian Whyte, fights with Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois and, of course, a fight with Tyson Fury. I would like him to have 4-5 more fights with the above fighters before retirement.”
Meanwhile, the Olympic medalist from Britain gave a prediction for the Usyk-Joshua 2 fight: “I bet on a late knockout.” Ex-world champion Wilder says almost the same thing: “It will be an easy victory.”
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