[ BOXING POLL ADDED ] The Rematch - JOSHUA vs USYK II (updated thread)

[Ziskinberg]

I am not surprised that Usyk won. Big muscles did not help Joshua. More faster and technical Usyk outboxed him. Where Joshua make 1-2 punches, Usyk make a series of 10.

Joshua is positive that he can still get up on this defeat and he wants to get back to the gym and train again and see what went wrong, there's a possibility of a rematch but I want Usyk to fight on the winner of the Fury - Wilder fight so we can have only one heavyweight champion, we all thought it's going to be easy for Joshua but Usyk proves us all wrong, it's a great achievement for Usyk who was a cruiserweight champion.

Usyk was very active and his head movement is very good that Joshua can't find a good timing to hit him. What a boxing skill Oleksandr Usyk has, he looks like a smaller version of Tyson Fury who moves a lot and good in throwing his punches, looks like we have a new superstar here.

His record is now improved to 19-0 with a possible big fight waiting for him.

https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/659772

[Jackl87]

I am not surprised that Usyk won. Big muscles did not help Joshua. More faster and technical Usyk outboxed him. Where Joshua make 1-2 punches, Usyk make a series of 10.

Joshua is positive that he can still get up on this defeat and he wants to get back to the gym and train again and see what went wrong, there's a possibility of a rematch but I want Usyk to fight on the winner of the Fury - Wilder fight so we can have only one heavyweight champion, we all thought it's going to be easy for Joshua but Usyk proves us all wrong, it's a great achievement for Usyk who was a cruiserweight champion.

I was very surprised to see that Usyk was pretty much outboxing Joshua over the course of the whole fight and Usyk never seemed to be really in danger of losing this fight, so huge congrats to Usyk for his performance and for becoming the new triple champion. He managed to pretty silence the 60.000 british fans which is a very hard thing to do so he totally deserved to win this one. I was unsure if the judges would really give the win to Usyk because everyone knows how many shady and not comprehensible decisions of the judges we have already seen in boxing, but thank god they made the right decision.
It will be interesting to see, if Joshua can recover from that.

[eaLiTy]

~
Usyk was very active and his head movement is very good that Joshua can't find a good timing to hit him. What a boxing skill Oleksandr Usyk has, he looks like a smaller version of Tyson Fury who moves a lot and good in throwing his punches, looks like we have a new superstar here.

His record is now improved to 19-0 with a possible big fight waiting for him.

Tyson Fury needs to win the trilogy against Deontay Wilder and then focus should be on Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk and both of them are the undefeated and i am not sure how much hype they can generate but since Anthony Joshua is not the champion and i do not think that Tyson Fury will challenge him next.

In short Deontay Wilder messed up the biggest fight in boxing because of his ego and now the landscape changed big time with Oleksandr Usyk winning the belt. I am expecting a rematch and if Usyk is focused and not end up like Andy Ruiz Jr who was overwhelmed with instant richness and celebrity status and ruined his career, he will easily overcome Joshua once again.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

We have witnessed two upsets just this month first it was Pacquiao now Joshua, but Joshua's upset is very surprising and major one, considering that it was held in his hometown and he is at the peak of his career and gearing up for a match against Fury or Wilder, I hope Fury will not get upset when he fights Wilder, or it will be the end of the domination of British boxers.

I am not surprised that Usyk won. Big muscles did not help Joshua. More faster and technical Usyk outboxed him. Where Joshua make 1-2 punches, Usyk make a series of 10.

So Usyk derail the plans of Joshua vs Fury, Lol, that will really hurt Joshua because he will lost a lot of money. So there's no all Brits showdown for the Heavyweight. And Usyk should fight the winner of Fury vs Wilder III and the loser fights Joshua. That will be interesting match-up to really see who is the best among them. Congrats to Usyk, we underestimate him, and congrats to those who bet on him, for sure they are happy cashing out their winnings.

[Altryist]

I just downloaded the fight and watched it again. Great smart boxing, I hope to see many more of these from Usyk.
What surprised me - the final gong sounded 4 seconds earlier (or did it seem to me?), did someone else pay attention to this? I got the impression that in this way Joshua was saved from a knockout - at that moment he stood leaning on the ropes with his hands down.

Absolutely correct remark, the gong sounded earlier than necessary!!! You saw everything correctly, Joshua fought on the home arena, and if he fell, and everything was going to this, then it would just be a failed fight for the whole of England. But I will tell you even more, did you see how the Usyk's quick punches were accentuated, and how loosely he beat in the last seconds of the last round. I am sure that he respects the champion and realizes that he at the Tottenham Arena cannot let the champion fall so low in front of his fans. Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe that if his wish, he could drive the right blow into Joshua's head.

[JollyGood]

After the fight Eddie Hearn (promoter for Joshua) said if he stands aside and does not invoke the re-match then maybe he will not get another shot at the title because in future anything could happen including injuries and schedules. I think he will exercise the re-match clause within the 30 days period the contract allows.

Fury said Usyk was going to cause problems for Joshua and might win - he was right. If Fury gets past Wilder III he should fight Usyk and will probably win, then should retire a very rich man 

I have to agree here.

If Fury gets past Wilder III then he probably will beat Usyk by KO or TKO well before 12 rounds. The chances of Usyk beating Fury are not high.

Joshua needs to win his re-match with Usyk to get any credibility back and get in the ring with the winner of Fury vs Wilder III but for me Joshua just is not a proper technical fighter and it showed again this evening when Usyk beat him on every level and in every round. Joshua is brave but that alone does not win boxing fights.

We will probably not get an undisputed champion anytime soon due to the rematch clause in this fight, but I think Fury vs. Usyk is a much more interesting fight. Joshua would not have done well against Fury if he is not even able to take a punch from a cruiserweight.

IMHO, i think a Fury vs Usyk will end with Fury knocking out Usyk. Fury just needs to win against Wilder and we can all get to witness the fight. Everyone including myself was hoping to see AJ and Fury fight, is there any possibility of this still happening later on? if it ever happens and AJ fights with same morale and laxity that he fought with today, i don't think he will stand any chance.

Do you think that Joshua needs to exercise his rematch clause immediately? Or need to fight someone, not that dangerous to bring his confidence back? It looks like he lost everything in his fight, his ability to box and that power. Not sure what happen to Joshua here, but I doubt that he can bounce back again after a beating from Usyk.

And it just shows how good Fury is, if he beats Wilder then probably will win against Usyk, his height and power might be to much for Usyk to absorb. As far as technical skills, Fury is still the best in this division.

[KTChampions]

I just downloaded the fight and watched it again. Great smart boxing, I hope to see many more of these from Usyk.
What surprised me - the final gong sounded 4 seconds earlier (or did it seem to me?), did someone else pay attention to this? I got the impression that in this way Joshua was saved from a knockout - at that moment he stood leaning on the ropes with his hands down.

Absolutely correct remark, the gong sounded earlier than necessary!!! You saw everything correctly, Joshua fought on the home arena, and if he fell, and everything was going to this, then it would just be a failed fight for the whole of England. But I will tell you even more, did you see how the Usyk's quick punches were accentuated, and how loosely he beat in the last seconds of the last round. I am sure that he respects the champion and realizes that he at the Tottenham Arena cannot let the champion fall so low in front of his fans. Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe that if his wish, he could drive the right blow into Joshua's head.

Yes, that's right - in an interview after the fight, he himself said that he did not set himself the goal of knocking out Joshua. It really sounded like "I might but didn't want to out of respect." As for the bell signal too early, such little things really make me angry - everyone is aware of the big corruption in boxing and treats it without much surprise and emotion, but it really annoys me. I do not like that the result of many fights (mostly which were actually drawn or with a slight advantage of one of the boxers) was determined by manipulation of the judges.

[ene1980]

Damn, the battle of Britain has been officially ruined  .
What a masterful display by Usyk in this fight.
Losses this one, could have been a big win if I bet the opposite.

Like i said there were huge bets on Usyk and when i was about to place a bet i saw millions of dollars placed on Usyk and i though about placing a few dollars on him and when the fight started i knew why the bets were on him as he was really crisp and Joshua was struggling to continue at the end of the last few rounds. The big payday for Fury and Joshua is done and dusted.

~
Take the money and run away!   It will be a shame not to end the streak because of one outcome.

If the odds he is getting is good to cashout, then i will always cashout because Arsenal vs Tottenham, i am expecting it to be a draw as i expect both the teams to score, so if you are able to cashout i would have done that if it was me.

[JollyGood]

Joshua is clutching at straws and still dreaming of fighting Fury, so much so that he said he would be willing to fight Fury without any belts. Well, he has zero belts now while Fury is still WBC world heavyweight champion. I think he is still shaken by the defeat and needs time to revcoer but he will have his re-match against Usyk and that fight will define him and his future. If he loses against Usyk II then he may a swell retire but if he wins then he has a chance to getting that fight against the winner of Fury-Wilder III

https://www.skysports.com/boxing/news/12183/12418400/anthony-joshua-says-he-could-still-fight-tyson-fury-without-his-world-titles-after-loss-to-oleksandr-usyk

[Maestro75]

Anthony Joshua let alot of his supporters down including me on the night with the way he boxed. He did not show so much vigor and determination to floor his man. Usyk was the better boxer and the win was well deserved for him. It would have been worse if Joshua had gone on straight to fight Tyson Fury. It would have ended in TKO within round 5 with alot of injuries for Joshua.

[Jating]

Anthony Joshua let alot of his supporters down including me on the night with the way he boxed. He did not show so much vigor and determination to floor his man. Usyk was the better boxer and the win was well deserved for him. It would have been worse if Joshua had gone on straight to fight Tyson Fury. It would have ended in TKO within round 5 with alot of injuries for Joshua.

Yeah, it was in his hometown and a lot of fans went there to see a Joshua win, not just a win, but a big one like knock out or something. However, he just look so average in that fight, you might look at it as Usyk is the champion because he is the one dictating the tempo of the fight. Joshua didn't adjust, or maybe his corner didn't get him instructions after the first couple of rounds. And with the version of Joshua who just stood around fights the version of Fury who knock out Wilder in the second fight? yeah probably in 5 rounds he will be in the canvass.

[Silberman]

We have witnessed two upsets just this month first it was Pacquiao now Joshua, but Joshua's upset is very surprising and major one, considering that it was held in his hometown and he is at the peak of his career and gearing up for a match against Fury or Wilder, I hope Fury will not get upset when he fights Wilder, or it will be the end of the domination of British boxers.

I am not surprised that Usyk won. Big muscles did not help Joshua. More faster and technical Usyk outboxed him. Where Joshua make 1-2 punches, Usyk make a series of 10.

I will be honest I thought that Joshua was going to win but unlike some I did not thought it was possible for Joshua to win in the first rounds, however when I saw the fight I knew that after they reached the eight round that Joshua was not going to win, as something that is not widely know is that big muscles drain your stamina really quickly, and if Usyk had 30 additional seconds on the last round he could have knockout Joshua, Joshua did not did a terrible job as a fighter but he needs to let go of muscles so huge that do not really help him to punch harder and instead slow him down.

[JollyGood]

Usyk definitely dictated the tempo of the fight, no doubt about that. Joshua had no answer to Usyk yet he had all the tools win comfortably and this is something Joshua will struggle to get over when they meet for the re-match.

Joshua was stunned when Usyk started catching him hard in the first round and after that it seemed Joshua thought he could keep boxing like he did against Povetkin but Usyk is several classes above him. I think Joshua will struggle to win the re-match unless he changes his style and uses his huge frame to impose himself on Usyk.

Anthony Joshua let alot of his supporters down including me on the night with the way he boxed. He did not show so much vigor and determination to floor his man. Usyk was the better boxer and the win was well deserved for him. It would have been worse if Joshua had gone on straight to fight Tyson Fury. It would have ended in TKO within round 5 with alot of injuries for Joshua.

Yeah, it was in his hometown and a lot of fans went there to see a Joshua win, not just a win, but a big one like knock out or something. However, he just look so average in that fight, you might look at it as Usyk is the champion because he is the one dictating the tempo of the fight. Joshua didn't adjust, or maybe his corner didn't get him instructions after the first couple of rounds. And with the version of Joshua who just stood around fights the version of Fury who knock out Wilder in the second fight? yeah probably in 5 rounds he will be in the canvass.

[Zedpastin]

Usyk definitely dictated the tempo of the fight, no doubt about that. Joshua had no answer to Usyk yet he had all the tools win comfortably and this is something Joshua will struggle to get over when they meet for the re-match.

Joshua was stunned when Usyk started catching him hard in the first round and after that it seemed Joshua thought he could keep boxing like he did against Povetkin but Usyk is several classes above him. I think Joshua will struggle to win the re-match unless he changes his style and uses his huge frame to impose himself on Usyk.

Since the Ruiz and Joshua fight Joshua has looked hesitant to get into a punching match and instead when Usyk started to throw punches and look to trade a couple of them he backed out but that is not the most effective tactic. Joshua used to be good at these trading punches because he has big power in his punches and by stepping back he allows the better boxer technically to continue to dominate him. I do not see any way that Joshua wins in the rematch if there is going to be a rematch. Joshua did not speak to any media after the fight which I think is a breach contractually and I think his head is not in the best places right now. I do not see the rematch happening and if it does Usyk wins unless Joshua can get a lucky punch because it is obvious to me that Usyk was the better boxer.

[robelneo]

I find this one very odd after the bell of the last round ring Usyk raise his hand and Joshua did not and he sat on his stool for several minutes before being urged to get up and go to the referee for the announcement but once Michael Buffer announce Usyk as the winner, Joshua was in total shock I don't know if it's the result or the score, I agree on the unanimous decision and I guess majority will also agree I don't know why Joshua was in total shock when he should not.

 Full story and the footage here
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/anthony-joshua-sarcastic-reaction-usyk-25074850

[JollyGood]

It could have been concussion or simply the shock of how not only was he defeated but the manner in which the defeat was inflicted. Joshua just did not look comfortable from the moment he appeared in the arena long before he walked in to the ring.

Maybe he is mentally not as tough as we all thought.

I find this one very odd after the bell of the last round ring Usyk raise his hand and Joshua did not and he sat on his stool for several minutes before being urged to get up and go to the referee for the announcement but once Michael Buffer announce Usyk as the winner, Joshua was in total shock I don't know if it's the result or the score, I agree on the unanimous decision and I guess majority will also agree I don't know why Joshua was in total shock when he should not.

 Full story and the footage here
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/anthony-joshua-sarcastic-reaction-usyk-25074850

[Kemarit]

Good thing though is that the judges did a good job and didn't screw Usyk, otherwise if we hear that Joshua won in this fight, there will be a lot of accusations on a home cook decision.

Joshua was in total shock, he even doesn't want to stand in there because it was a disappointed performance from him wherein everyone is expecting that he will win by knockout or by decision. But it was the other way around. Not sure how he can adjust in the rematch if ever he and his team exercise it, I know he bounce from a Ruiz lost, but Usyk is different and he has difficulty against a technical fighter.

[robelneo]

It could have been concussion or simply the shock of how not only was he defeated but the manner in which the defeat was inflicted. Joshua just did not look comfortable from the moment he appeared in the arena long before he walked in to the ring.

Maybe he is mentally not as tough as we all thought.

I find this one very odd after the bell of the last round ring Usyk raise his hand and Joshua did not and he sat on his stool for several minutes before being urged to get up and go to the referee for the announcement but once Michael Buffer announce Usyk as the winner, Joshua was in total shock I don't know if it's the result or the score, I agree on the unanimous decision and I guess majority will also agree I don't know why Joshua was in total shock when he should not.

 Full story and the footage here
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/anthony-joshua-sarcastic-reaction-usyk-25074850

Lennox Lewis is right all along in his opinion of Joshua

He wants to go around making money.
“I think that’s going to be a downfall for him. He has to stay with it, he can’t be in the background.
“If he wants to be champion, he has to act like a champion.”

he's been fighting low-level fighters and against strong and talented boxers like Ruiz and Usyk, he is nowhere the level of a champion like Lennox Lewis, I wonder what it would be like facing against a very technical and powerful Fury, Joshua was really exposed on this fight, there's a rematch clause let's see if it will generate interest.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Usyk definitely dictated the tempo of the fight, no doubt about that. Joshua had no answer to Usyk yet he had all the tools win comfortably and this is something Joshua will struggle to get over when they meet for the re-match.

Joshua was stunned when Usyk started catching him hard in the first round and after that it seemed Joshua thought he could keep boxing like he did against Povetkin but Usyk is several classes above him. I think Joshua will struggle to win the re-match unless he changes his style and uses his huge frame to impose himself on Usyk.

Since the Ruiz and Joshua fight Joshua has looked hesitant to get into a punching match and instead when Usyk started to throw punches and look to trade a couple of them he backed out but that is not the most effective tactic. Joshua used to be good at these trading punches because he has big power in his punches and by stepping back he allows the better boxer technically to continue to dominate him. I do not see any way that Joshua wins in the rematch if there is going to be a rematch. Joshua did not speak to any media after the fight which I think is a breach contractually and I think his head is not in the best places right now. I do not see the rematch happening and if it does Usyk wins unless Joshua can get a lucky punch because it is obvious to me that Usyk was the better boxer.

Joshua has what many would consider a glass chin. He does not take punches very well. He has taken a lot of damage against Klitschko, Ruiz, and now Usyk. Punch resistance isn't something that can be improved with training. I just do not see how he will ever be champion again. He should fight someone like Dillian Whyte or Derek Chisora and get one last big paycheck and then call it a career. He is too damaged to continue much longer in the sport.

[fortunecrypto]

Joshua   - 25 (64.1%)
Usyk   - 12 (30.8%)
Draw   - 2 (5.1%)
Total Voters: 39

The majority of us here underestimate Usyk and were very confident that Joshua will win, my take on this is Joshua was exposed against a very aggressive fighter who knows how to take an angle and deliver a clear punch, that take away everything on Joshua, there were rounds that Joshua dominate but it was short domination Usyk is very quick to change his gear and always have an answer on everything Joshua is bringing, so we'll see now if Fury can carry the British flag against Wilder.