By Craig Daly: Tim Bradley feels that Oleksandr Usyk’s high volume punching was too much for Anthony Joshua to handle last Saturday night. Usyk threw over 700 punches in the fight, and those are the type of numbers you see from welterweights, not heavyweights.
Bradley says that heavyweights throwing in the 300 range typically, and there was no way that Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) could deal with all the output from unified champion Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) last night in their rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Joshua doesn’t possess the engine to deal with that many shots coming at him from a fighter like Usyk. Although AJ tried the best he could, it was the combination of punches and feints from Usyk that proved to be too much.
Joshua was constantly tensing up, waiting for shots from Usyk, and that resulted in him tiring in the championship rounds, which is where the fight was won.
“I thought Usyk was going to knock him out, but Joshua showed a lot of mental toughness throughout the fight,” said Tim Bradley to Fight Hub TV.
“I thought [Robert] Garcia did a great job of getting Joshua prepared for all the feints. Joshua wasn’t biting a whole long on them in the beginning. He was holding his ground and keeping a tight guard, but it just wasn’t enough offense.
“When he did throw, and he did land, a lot of times it was too the body. He landed some vicious right hands over the top, but Usyk took them and came back stronger.
“That sheer volume. All those punches coming at you, and you’re a big heavyweight like Joshua. It’s hard to get out of the way; it’s hard to defend against all that offense coming your way,” said Bradley.
Joshua tried his best and was even in the fight through the ninth round. When Usyk shifted into another gear in the tenth, he left Joshua behind, as he couldn’t keep up.
“It was a great performance. I was expecting a late-round knockout or TKO. He [Joshua] did, but it’s that resiliency in him,” said Bradley when told that Joshua almost had Usyk knocked out in the ninth.
“He [Usyk] didn’t look as fluid as he did in the first fight. For the most part, he did what he had to do. A great performance from Usyk. He showed that he was a special fighter.
“There’s no doubt about it; he was upset,” Bradley said about Joshua. “You’re going to be upset, especially when you fight a rematch. Anthony is the type of fighter that always seems to get his way.
“He’s always gotten his way. When he fought Ruiz, he was able to reclaim his titles. He wanted his titles back this time around, but Usyk is just a better fighter. Sometimes there are guys out there that just have your number. Stylistically, you don’t match up.
“It doesn’t matter how many times you fight. They’re going to win nine times out of ten and Usyk is that guy for him. He’s a nightmare. But Joshua, I like the fact that he was pissed off.
“I don’t have a problem with the way he behaved. Everybody deals with defeat in a different way. This one really hurt him, you could tell because he did everything. He changed trainers, he ran harder, and went to bed earlier.
“He did everything he possibly could, and it still wasn’t good enough. That’s frustrating. Everybody don’t behave the same way, especially under defeat.
“Usually, you see him [Joshua], and he’s all gracious. ‘Hey, it’s fine.’ Hell no. He knows this was his night to get those titles back, and he didn’t do it; although he did everything he was supposed to do, and it still wasn’t good enough. That hurts.
“I just hope he takes some time off and gets himself back together and picks himself off the ground right now because trust me; he’s on the floor kicking himself, hating himself, and get back in the damn ring.
“I don’t know. It’s up to him, honestly,” Bradley said when asked where does Joshua go from here? “He seems like he still has a lot of fights left in him.
“He didn’t lay down. In those critical moments where he was getting hit, he didn’t lay down. He fought back and showed his toughness, but it wasn’t good enough. Usyk was a step ahead of him every single step of the way.
“Hell yeah,” said Bradley when asked if a fight between Joshua and Deontay Wilder is still interesting for him. “If I’m Wilder, I’m salivating, I want that fight. I want to show that I’m still Deontay Wilder.
“He’s a big guy; they’ll make a ton of money. Joshua is still [popular]. Take some time off, a few months, and then come back. People are going to miss you; they’re definitely going to miss you.
“When you have your return, you have it against a guy like Wilder. Maybe you take a tune-up fight. Wilder is available now. I’m happy Wilder is back because he’s exciting, and he’s great for boxing.
“Personally, I thought something was wrong with him [Joshua] mentally. I’m not going to lie. I felt like he didn’t mind laying down. I didn’t see that in this fight. I saw a dude that was going for it. He was trying. He gassed out at the end.
“You have to understand that when you have to deal with all the smoke & mirrors and the hand gestures and the in & out movement [of Usyk], it’s so hard. It’s keeping you tense the whole time. So you’re gassing out. Little by little, it’s draining your energy.
“Then you’re taking punches, trying to be alert, and you’re trying to land your own punches. It’s tiring, especially being a big man like him. I thought he had a good game plan, but it just wasn’t enough.
“Usyk was too much volume for him. 700 and something punches for a heavyweight, bro? That’s welterweight type of numbers. That’s Errol Spence type of numbers. That’s a lot of damn punches to deal with when heavyweights throw 300, 350. He [Usyk] doubled that.
“I would say take a long break, look at the landscape and then decide on if you want to continue to fight. I know Joshua won’t want to go out like that.
“There’s still an opportunity because if Fury gets those belts and beats Usyk, I wouldn’t mind seeing a Joshua-Fury. That makes sense to me. ‘That doesn’t make sense. He lost twice.’ Bro, I’m talking about marketability, I’m talking about two Brits going at it. On British soil, it doesn’t get any bigger than that.
“I think that fight would be bigger than Usyk from a marketing standpoint. It would be way bigger. Usyk is so cerebral and so talented inside the ring, and he’s soo great at positioning.
“Then you have Tyson Fury, who is bigger and can fight from a southpaw stance. He can do it all too. I think Fury has more tools in his bag, and is bigger. He can press forward.
“It’s Tyson Fury we’re talking about, and he’s showing punching power we haven’t seen him in recent fights. He’s knocking guys out now. It’s a dangerous fight for both, but if you put a gun to my head now, I’ll go, Fury wins the fight. That’s what I would say,” said Bradley.
