By Barry Holbrook: Peter Fury says Oleksandr Usyk is a “perilous” fight for Anthony Joshua to be taken on September 25th. It’s a fight that Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs), according to Peter.
Joshua will be defending his IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight titles against his WBO mandatory Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs0 on September 25th at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England.
There’s a false perception among boxing fans and some fighters that Usyk doesn’t possess the power to threaten Joshua.
However, Peter says they’re wrong because former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk has adjusted to fighting at heavyweight and hits hard enough to be dangerous to Joshua.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist Usyk has packed on 15 lbs of muscle and weighs in the low 230s, making him more than heavy enough to hurt Joshua.
Usyk won’t be an easy fight for Joshua
“He’s [Oleksandr Usyk] very dangerous,” said Peter Fury to Sky Sports.
“It’s not a walk in the park. Forget cruiserweight. This guy, he’s had a couple of fights in the heavyweight division, he’s adjusted, he’s put the necessary weight on,” said Peter Fury.
Many boxing fans don’t understand why Joshua doesn’t vacate his WBO title so that he doesn’t have to worry about Usyk?
With a much bigger fight against Tyson Fury looming in early 2022, Joshua could vacate his WBO title and not worry about Usyk.
Joshua could then justify his decision by telling the fans that he vacated the belt to give them the fight they want against Fury or Deontay Wilder.
“He’s a serious heavyweight and a serious talent, so it will be a good fight.” Yes, of course, he has [enough power to hurt Joshua].
“He’s an accurate puncher, and when you’re in that bodyweight bracket when you’re punching correctly, any punchers can do damage. Yes, he belongs in the division, and he’s a serious threat,” said Peter about Usyk.
Oleksandr makes adjustments well
“That’s an unfair comparison in my view purely based on the fact that they’re two different fighters and two different styles,” said Tony Bellew to the DAZN Boxing Show when told that Tyson Fury said Usyk wouldn’t be able to hurt Joshua because he couldn’t knock out Dereck Chisora.
“Joshua will attempt to jump on Usyk, but he won’t try and do it in the same way. Del [Chisora] is going to try and do it without any skills or intelligence.
“Del is going to make you work, and if your work rate drops, Del is going to come on in the fight. With Usyk, his work rate doesn’t drop, and his skill level and footwork don’t change either,” said Bellew.
Usyk had many problems against Chisora in their fight last October and barely won a 12 round split decision. If that version of Usyk shows up, Joshua has got an excellent chance of winning.
“If anything, he gets better as the fight wears on,” Bellew said about Usyk. “He’s someone that likes to look at you in the first two rounds, and believe me, I know this from experience, unfortunately, and then he starts making adjustments in round three onwards.
“The difference with AJ is he’s a physical specimen,” said Bellew. “He’s the best physical specimen the heavyweight division has seen in 20 years. I think physically, he’s [Joshua] the best heavyweight we’ve seen since a prime Mike Tyson.
“I’m not saying his boxing ability. I’m saying based on his physical capabilities. His speed and power are unmatched. No one in the world is anywhere near as good.
“Deontay Wilder is extremely powerful, and he has much more one-punch power than Joshua. But his physical capabilities of getting from point A to point B are nowhere near as good as Anthony Joshua. His [Wilder] technical ability is way off.