Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk 2

[TitoFan]

I have to go Usyk points. Reviewing highlights from the first fight, AJ has nothing that should bother Usyk this time around.

Usyk showed he takes a pretty good punch, probably better than AJ does. Usyk's side to side style is going to forever bother AJ, who only knows backwards and forward. In fact, it was exiting some of these lateral moves that Usyk tagged Joshua a lot of the times. Joshua may try and press early... but I think his survival instincts will kick in so as to not risk a knockout loss. We saw that in Joshua-Ruiz II, where AJ basically was extremely careful not to engage Ruiz and risk another knockout loss. Joshua's hands are too slow for Usyk, who moves in such a way as to absorb whatever power AJ may have. I'm sure Usyk will be the consummate boxer in the first few rounds of the fight, avoiding possible rushes and flurries from AJ. I was tempted to say Usyk by KO... but I think Usyk knows AJ could land a haymaker and change the whole course of the fight. So I'll stick with Usyk points.

[Master]

Anthony Joshua has changed trainers, tactics and physique ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk but promoter Frank Warren still believes he has one big flaw that will let him down.

In the first fight between Usyk and Joshua, the Ukrainian put on a boxing masterclass to win by unanimous decision and claim the unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles.

Joshua was widely criticised following the loss for his game plan of trying to out-box one of the most technically gifted fighters in the world.

In the rematch, ‘AJ’ insists that he will be changing tacks and using his size and strength advantages to go for the knockout and from recent pictures posted to his Instagram it seems he is packing on the muscle in preparation.

Joshua has also switched out his long-time trainer, Rob McCracken, and replaced him with the dynamic duo of Angel Fernandez and Robert Garcia.

Despite these changes, Frank Warren, who promotes Joshua’s fiercest rival Tyson Fury, is unconvinced that the Brit will be able to get the job done in the rematch.

“I’ve seen all these pictures and photographs of how big Anthony’s got and he’s got a new trainer, so good luck to him, I hope he wins.” Warren told SecondsOut.

“But, I just think Usyk’s got his number and whatever is gonna be is gonna be.

“The big worry is you can train and train and do all of these sorts of things, you can build your body up, but one thing you can’t do is you can’t put muscles on chins.”

This is in reference to the fact that Joshua is often criticised for his lack of punch resistance, stemming from his first fight with Andy Ruiz Jr when the Brit was knocked down four times on his his way to a stoppage defeat.

With that being said, this criticism is relatively unfounded given that Joshua has only been stopped once in 26 professional bouts and outside of the Ruiz Jr fight he has only ever been dropped by Wladimir Klitschko.

This is the heavyweight division, where every fighter has the power to knock their opponent out at any moment and when that is considered, it could be said that ‘AJ’ is actually fairly robust.

https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1...leksandr-usyk/

[NoSavingByTheBell]

Only hope is to rough him up bad and fast and risk gassing. Use the size and power. But it'll be a tad like Foreman vs Young.

[palmerq]

I'm going with Joshua this time, a bit of a risky bet but he's in a bad way if he loses so I think he'll pull it out of the bag, the guy is monsterously powerful and it'll only take a few good ones to take the life out of usyk.....

I also though Alvarez would beat bivol .

[Mark TKO]

Seen photos of usyk training. Looks bigger to me.

[Master]

OLEKSANDR USYK has impressed fans with his latest training pictures.

The Ukrainian is hard at work preparing for his highly-anticipated rematch with Anthony Joshua.

Usyk, 35, snatched the Brit's heavyweight belts by comfortably outpointing him at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September.

The pair were supposed to meet again in May, although the ongoing war in Ukraine delayed the bout.

Usyk joined his country's military in the wake of Russia's invasion, but was later given permission by Ukraine's sports minister to return to training.

The 35-year-old is looking in imperious shape as he gears up for his second Joshua showdown.

In pictures shared to his Instagram, The Cat can be seen sparring with his coach at Box IQ in Dubai.

He captioned it "Working hard..." and fans are impressed with his physique.

One wrote: "Looking big."

While a second commented: "Looking big, knock him out this time."

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/18924...oshua-rematch/

[zoley]

Could backfire for Usyk... If he bulks up too much, will he lose the insane agility he needed to outmaneuver and outclass AJ the first time? Will he feel "stronger" and take more risks this time? Could backfire.