Anthony Joshua insists he has nothing to fear from Oleksandr Usykk for their fight in September. IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua doesn’t want to vacate his WBO title to avoid Usyk, which is a fight that will bring him far less money and accolades than facing the Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder III winner later this year.
Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) believes the unbeaten former cruiserweight champion Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs) has nothing in his arsenal of punches that could trouble him when or if they meet in September with all three of AJ’s heavyweight titles on the line.
“None. I fear none of them. He don’t bring me nothing I ain’t seen before,” said Joshua to Sky Sports News.
Joshua sounds like his last two wins over 40-year-old Kubrat Pulev, and an out-of-shape Andy Ruiz Jr has gone to his head, giving him delusions of grandeur about himself.
Usyk isn’t as powerful as many of the heavyweights that Joshua has fought during his eight-year professional career. However, he’s still dangerous due to his slick style & his superior stamina.
Andy Ruiz Jr isn’t viewed as a monstrous puncher, yet he stopped Joshua in seven rounds in their first fight in June 2019.
We’ll never know for sure if Ruiz could have done the same to AJ in their rematch because he came into the fight overweight and not fit enough to attack Joshua as he’d done in the first fight.
Joshua is counting on Fury winning his trilogy match with former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder on July 24th to face him later this year.
It would be interesting to see if Joshua will still choose to face Fury if he gets knocked out by Wilder. The money from the UK boxing fans will still be there for Joshua-Fury regardless of what happens to the Gypsy King next money.
One can argue that if Wilder poleaxes Fury in the first round to score a quick knockout, a fight between Joshua and the Gypsy King will still sell in December.
It may not sell elsewhere, but AJ and Fury would still be able to count on their loyal British and purchase their fight.
“I’ll still be here, still ready to put on a show. End of the year,” said Joshua about Fury. “That fight has to happen. It’ll happen.
“After I fight Usyk, this fight is going to be bigger, better than what it would have been,” said Joshua about a fight between him and Fury.
No, I think Joshua has things backward. If Fury beats Wilder, the Joshua match will be bigger, provided that AJ beats Usyk. The reality is, Joshua vs. Usyk is viewed as pretty much a mismatch.
Knowledgable boxing fans know that Joshua, with his poor stamina and chin problem, can lose the contest, but the casuals see the Usyk fight as a mismatch. Fury is the one that is in the position to build more interest in a Joshua fight if he knocks out Wilder again.
Boooooooomb squuuuaaaaaaaaaad