This Saturday, September 25, 2021–Oleksandr Usyk (18-0 13 KOs) will be facing off with the unified Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs).
Usyk, who unified and became undisputed at Cruiserweight, is daring for greatness against the unified Heavyweight champion.
Usyk was an extraordinary boxer at Cruiserweight, but has yet to really impress at Heavyweight. He has two wins over aging Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora. In his first outing he was easily able to outbox Witherspoon and lead to a stoppage in the corner.
In his second matchup, Usyk did show he may be able to get hit easier than expected by these bigger men. He was only able to hurt Chisora momentarily in the seventh round after landing roughly 10 unanswered punches.
In the end, Usyk was able to outpoint Chisora in a close decision win. It is unlikely that either of these opponents would last six rounds with Joshua.
Joshua is looking to make his second title defense after an impressive win over Kubrat Pulev by KO. Joshua has been able to knock out every opponent but Joseph Parker who chose to be elusive; and Andy Ruiz where Joshua chose to be the elusive one and ended up losing.
I find it unlikely that Joshua will have much respect for Usyk’s power and will take the fight to him. Usyk can be elusive, but whether he can take a real power shot from a dominant Heavyweight has yet to be seen.
The early rounds should prove interesting as both men obtain great boxing capabilities. After a few rounds of warming up I predict Joshua will slowly, but surely take over the fight.
I am predicting a late stoppage for Joshua as Usyk will succumb to his power eventually. While a stoppage is likely, so is the chance to see some excellent boxing on display. This should be a real fan pleaser. As of right now, Joshua is coming in as the Vegas favorite at -275, according to MyBookie.AG.
