By Eric Flaherty: Anthony Joshua will be defending his IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight titles against WBO mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk on September 25th on DAZN and Sky.
Joshua is taking this fight to show the fans that he’s an “Old School” type of fighter, which doesn’t duck his mandatory challengers. It’s admirable that Joshua is willing to fight the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Usyk because this is a fight that he could lose.
While Usyk hasn’t looked outstanding in his two previous efforts since moving up to the heavyweight division in 2019, he’s added 15 lbs of bulk to his 6’3″ frame, and he could be dangerous for AJ.
Joshua’s fans are overconfident, believing this is going to be a slamdunk victory for him.
It’s like Deja Vu, how Joshua’s fans were giving Andy Ruiz Jr zero chance of winning before their first fight in June 2019. When is Joshua’s loyal following going to understand that he’s not infallible. Joshua has been upset once, and he can be upset again.
Will Usyk surprise Joshua with his power?
We don’t know what Usyk is capable of with the weight that he’s packed on. Usyk’s shots looked weak like feather-dusters in his last fight against Derek Chisora last October, but things could change with his new physique.
The other date for the Joshua-Usyk fight that was being considered previously was September 18th. Choosing a week later won’t change much for the fight.
Joshua and Usyk are already in superb condition after months of training, and they’ll both be ready for war on September 25th.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn revealed the new date on Friday, which is good news for the fans.
Joshua, 31, is risking everything by taking this fight with Usyk because if he gets beaten, the dream match that the fans have been clamoring for against Tyson Fury, will be over.
To be sure, AJ could face Usyk in a rematch and possibly avenge the defeat, but you never know what would happen in a second fight between the two.
Joshua, 6’6″, couldn’t count on Usyk stuffing his face with pies, cakes, and other assorted delicacies to bloat up to 283 lbs as we saw with Andy Ruiz Jr before his rematch with AJ.
There’s been a great deal of doubt whether Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) would take this fight against the former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs).
If Joshua’s mindset were the same as Tyson Fury’s, he would look to swerve the fight with Usyk by vacating it or asking the World Boxing Organization for an exception.
We saw Fury try and skate out of his contractual rematch with Deontay Wilder to move on to face Joshua in the more lucrative fight, but that turned out to be a fail.
Wilder’s management took it to an arbitrator in the United States, and he ruled in Deontay’s favor to force Fury to fight him again.