On August 20, the heavyweight bout between Alexander Usyk and Anthony Joshua took place. Their first fight ended in a sensational victory for Alexander, who took his opponent to the boxing school.
This time the balance of power changed: the heavyweights fought for the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO world titles, but Usik was the clear favorite. We reviewed Alexander’s arsenal and explained why Usyk retained his championship status. We also have a review of cricket online betting apps, so you can follow the link if interested.
Alexander Usyk was stronger in such metrics:
- Speed;
- Weight;
- Level of training;
Stronger in Psychology. Usyk is mentally resilient, while Joshua breaks under pressure.
Usyk is extremely resilient. Alexander does not lose heart during fights. He is not at a loss when the initiative goes to his opponent or his fight plan fails. Mental health helps Usik take the hit.
Usyk’s willpower is especially evident against the morally unstable Joshua. We saw Brit’s reaction when he lost. Usyk didn’t let him play the game he had planned at the beginning of the fight. At the same time, there is a lot of pressure on Joshua. Smeared by losses to Andy Ruiz and Alexander, his career, according to many, hangs in the balance. One more loss will likely put Anthony on the level of Deontay Wilder, who disappeared off the radar. The threat to his career is far from imaginary, and this time Joshua was fighting for his legacy and the right to be called one of the best in the world. That kind of pressure has proven excessive for the more brutal mentally ill fighters.
In addition, Anthony doesn’t adapt well to a changing fight pattern if it doesn’t go according to plan. Therefore, one of the central intrigues came down to the question: can Usik anticipate Joshua’s program in the preparation phase and work out how to counter that scenario? That’s precisely what happened. In recent matches, Usyk fundamentally changed his strategy and took his opponent by surprise.
Mobility and speed. They are the answer to Joshua’s size.
The fight showed that Usyk was faster than Joshua. His mobility and a series of quick punches stopped his opponent’s game plan. Time after time, the Briton took aim at Alexander but missed too many and, therefore, could not slow down and finish Usyk. At this pace, Alexander, despite the weight class of the fight, could move all 12 rounds. Usik is relatively small even for a neighborhood cruiserweight type; in the heavyweight division, all his opponents are more prominent and tougher.
Agility and speed answer the size difference that allows Alexander to be competitive. Leg and arm speed are good, no doubt. But it loses effectiveness in the late rounds if not combined with Alexander’s other trump card.
Endurance. Usyk puts out a high tempo all 12 rounds, building it up.
Usyk is remarkably resilient. Alexander often adds that he doesn’t just work all the rounds at a high tempo – in the last two matches. Pushing the gas into the floor, Usik nearly finished Joshua in the previous game of their first meeting. The same thing happened in the second round. Tired, huge, Anthony staggered and would have hardly stayed on his feet if the fight had lasted at least another minute.
This phenomenal stamina is because Alexander doesn’t throw rough punches, even when he competes in cruiserweights. He never tries to put his opponent down in the first round, and sometimes he does not try to do it during the whole fight. This manner saves energy (although it is noteworthy that bookmakers counted more chances of a knockout by Usyk than by puncher Joshua) this time. That difference would only be magnified against the massive and muscular Joshua: Anthony pressed and invested in punches to slow Alexander down and take over the initiative. It was especially true of strikes not so much to the body but to the breath, which Usyk had problems with within the first fight.
Alexander survived the storm of the first rounds, which allowed him to gain a serious advantage in the second half of the fight and, this time, to close things out with a knockout.
Multiply stamina by speed and mobility; you have a machine for destroying huge but tough guys.
Many famous trainers believe that technique trumps strength. Smart player Usyk, who looks excellent against punchers, only confirms this opinion. Alexander, like Vasyl Lomachenko, is known for his footwork. A good boxer defends with his legs first, moves his body and head, and only as a last resort does he put a deaf block. Usik is not just a good boxer but a great boxer.
His dominant arm movement, ease on his feet, and ability to cut corners properly made him a difficult target for singles punches. You had to catch Alexander with a brilliant series of offset punches, and that’s not Joshua’s strongest suit.
But what about the attack? Usyk’s punching mechanics are not about putting in a crouch with muscular effort but about shifting his body weight sharply as he moves on his feet, using the momentum and importance of his body. It allows Alexander to avoid wasting unnecessary energy and get even more use out of the movements. Joshua’s arsenal is not as extensive as Alexander’s, but it will narrow even more if the Brit seeks a knockout. It’s noteworthy that experts believe that Anthony’s primary mistake in the first fight was that he boxed rather than pressed. As a result, Joshua got into his opponent’s territory and logically lost the fight.
Anthony’s pressing in the rematch put Usik in a more dangerous situation at the beginning of the fight. Nevertheless, it opened up more opportunities for combinations in the middle and end of the fight.
The location of the fight is another plus for Usyk
The bookies considered Usyk’s victory on points to be the most likely. It is an essential detail if we turn to the first fight of the athletes. It took place in London, and several experts expressed their fears about the traditional habit of British judges helping their compatriots on the final cards. The fears were partly justified: some judges gave Joshua rounds that he blatantly lost, and in the last one, when the Briton was already dangling from missed punches and fatigue, the gong saved him from the knockout by sounding a few seconds earlier than expected.
This time the fight took place on neutral territory (Saudi Arabia), which, along with Usik’s high chances of winning on points, was not the most serious but a nice bonus.
Usyk was the favorite, but he could have lost even with all advantages. Joshua had been preparing since day one after the loss and changed coaches. He was without his usual coaching staff and didn’t train for a long time. So many wondered if he could make up for the loss by fighting a former champion.
The fight in Saudi Arabia is also a bonus for all of us because instead of a night of boxing, we saw a rematch in prime time. The battle lasted 12 rounds, during which everyone gave their all. But, as many analysts predicted, Alexander Usyk won on points.
