Why Oleksandr Usyk may become a wildcard to destroy Anthony Joshua and the heavyweight super game

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If the best plan for the boxing heavyweight division is realized this summer, unified champion Anthony Joshua will have already faced the straight line and WBC belt holder Tyson Ferry to announce the first undisputed champion of the four-belt era.

However, this is boxing, and nothing can go according to plan. However, the good news is that the consolation prize offered to fans in the form of an unofficial four-man tournament in the next two weeks is expected to be announced early next year as the undisputed best heavyweight player of this era.

On Saturday, Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) will play against former undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usik (18- 0, 13 KOs) Mandatory defense of the Tottenham stadium (1pm Eastern Time, DAZN). Two weeks later, on October 9th, Las Vegas will play a trilogy at home, Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) against former WBC champion Deontay Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs).

However, for all the discussions about who the four boxers might be the most likely to be the last boxer, most of the discussion revolves around the current giant trio.

Undoubtedly, the biggest wild card of the four is Usik, a 6-foot-3 left-hander who won the heavyweight gold medal for Ukraine at the 2012 London Olympics. At the same time, this weekend’s opponent, the 31-year-old Joshua Ya brought it home to Jin Super Heavyweight.

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The 34-year-old Usyk brings a set of skills to the heavyweight class, which is the same as the 6-foot-9-inch Fury with his speed, length and elusive way, which is unique in the department. Usek may not be as tall as Ferry, and after only two appearances in heavyweight competitions plagued by injuries in the past three years, the jury still has not determined whether he really has the ability and strength to resist becoming an elite threat. However, it is equally difficult to ignore the combination of his creativity, superb technical skills and fearlessness when determining the extent of the living dog he is expected to fight against Joshua.

As a master of pre-war psychological warfare attempts with comedy as the front line, Usek appeared at the last press conference on Thursday, dressed in a wild three-piece suit, looking directly at the late actor Heath Ledger The wardrobe in revenge for his role as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” series about Batman. Although Usyk’s humor and nostalgia are not accidental, his antics only conceal how great a pure boxer he actually is.

Usyk is the product of the same Ukrainian amateur team. The team trained Vasiliy Lomachenko, a multi-level champion. Usyk is the heavyweight “Lomachenko”. His footwork, timing, and a large number of punches from different angles make him a threat to the more robotized Joshua, and Caesars Sportsbook considers Usek as a +220 weak.

After a long and brilliant amateur career, Usek became a professional player at the age of 26, and quickly started an unparalleled clearing in his 10th professional game, against elite fighters Krzysztof Glowacki, Thabiso Mchunu, Michael Hunter, Marco Huck won seven consecutive games, Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev and Tony Bellew.

Usek’s heavyweight competition is not only impressive, because he became the fifth male boxer in modern times to unify all four championship titles in a division, and he withdrew with Evander Holyfield (Evander Holyfield) Participated in the greatest debate in the history of the heavyweight class. He also won the World Boxing Super Series Championship in 2018, thus completing a breakout event.

Facts have proved that WBSS is the perfect testing ground for Usyk’s ambitious plan, one day to test the waters in the heavyweight class. In the last two rounds, he teamed up with unbeaten heavy hitters — Bridis and Gasyev — which tested his jaw and adaptability, and then his determination and elusiveness.

Usek passed all possible tests in the lightweight class and seemed to be ready to cause an immediate sensation in the heavyweight class, but a series of bad luck and misfortune caused his fight to be cancelled, injured setbacks and potential opponents failed to pass the drug test. About 11 months after retiring from Bellew in England, Usek finally made his heavyweight debut in a dull sleeper, against the powerful late substitute Chaz Witherspoon.

However, fortunately for Usek, he was able to really test himself in the department before he won the heavyweight world championship title. That game was against the rugged veteran Derek Chisola in October last year. Usek won by a narrow margin. It seemed to have done two very different things at the same time: for those who doubted whether he could be able to fight against the weight of the body. It is correct that the same successful person provides motivation and proves that his supporters believe that he can still win after doing so.

The reality is that Usyk’s brave nature makes him willing to endure major shots in order to stay on the scorecard in the championship game without a doubt. This is a performance similar to his performance against Gasyev in the 2018 thriller, which greatly cements Usyk not only as a technical boxer, but also a tough one who can stand up and win a major victory. People struggle with things.

The obvious rebuttal to all the success Usyk has achieved so far is that he has not yet faced a man exactly like Joshua, who is 6 feet 6 inches tall-a natural Terminator with hands like a National Football League Linebacker, but fast enough to punch with his toes. A quick comparison of the two will make it difficult for observers at a distance not to predict that Joshua Asia Pacific will be big and strong, and will not catch up with Usek in the end. And this is what “Joker” wants you to think of.

Usyk’s subtle talents are most evident in his ability to study the opponent’s patterns and settings in the early stages of the battle so that he can play a role later in the second half. Given Joshua’s history of fatigue for key stretches in major battles, while carrying all the muscles on his 245-pound frame, if Usyk gets there, this could be a problem for the defending champion.

The fragile history of Joshua’s jaw may also be worrying in the next few rounds of this game. For Usyk, it seems that he lacks real heavyweight power, and he makes up for it with precision.

From a marketability point of view, and bringing the most eyeballs to the sport overnight, it is hard to say that the best thing happening in this sector is the Fury-Joshua Super Fight in 2022. The only thing better than this might be a direct rematch between the two. Considering that the two trade negotiations should prove to be victorious in the next two weeks, this seems very likely.

However, Joshua’s toughest game so far is likely to be Usek, which is why the odds setters did not take risks. And why boxing fans shouldn’t make plans for the all-British matchup of all four world titles next year.



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