I think that avoiding Usyk would be the smart play for Joshua and I don't hold it against him. I think he should've taken the step-aside fortune and I wouldn't hold that against him either. This is a concussive vocation and takes years off your life - Get what you can & get out!!! So Usyk is a terrific fighter and has Joshua's number? So what?, it happens. Let's see Usyk make 7 defenses and draw 100,000 live gate each time. Sullivan struggled with Charlie Mitchell, Dempsey with Willie Meehan, Ali couldn't beat Norton. Forget Usyk!! Let Fury beat Whyte then corner Usyk and bomb him out. Then challenge Fury in a fight that Joshua is as well situated to overcome as anyone on earth. Beat The unbeatable champion after dropping two. ....Ali style.
That would be pretty clever.
If Joshua was going to avoid Usyk then logically they wait until the 20th to state it... so Whyte still gets his shot.
Would be a bit scummy, but boxing is scummy.
Personally I think Joshua will take the fight. He's never done anything else.
People forget that, while this was a different type of defeat than Ruiz, that's not how many saw it at the time and the conversation on here was exactly the same. It was a one sided beatdown, Joshua couldn't beat him in a rematch, it was foolish to run it straight back and would end his career. That continued up to the first bell - some argued Andy would benefit from extra weight, others claimed it was just a heavy hat!
I wouldn't back against Joshua. He was favourite going into the first fight. You don't go from being the favourite to having no chance at all. That's just knee jerk reaction stuff, as it was with Ruiz.
They keep pushing it back to age Usyk a bit more, hoping he slows down. Scumbags.
Usyk’s team said he won’t be ready until end of May
Usyk is going to whoop him either way
The writing on the wall is that it won't happen. Usyk didn't land a lucky punch, he beat his ass over 12. You can avenge a loss to a guy that lands a lucky punch against you, millions of examples. But it's hard to beat a guy that outboxes you over 12. Because now you need to land a lucky punch to win. Sure you're capable, but it's unlikely.
I think that avoiding Usyk would be the smart play for Joshua and I don't hold it against him. I think he should've taken the step-aside fortune and I wouldn't hold that against him either. This is a concussive vocation and takes years off your life - Get what you can & get out!!! So Usyk is a terrific fighter and has Joshua's number? So what?, it happens. Let's see Usyk make 7 defenses and draw 100,000 live gate each time. Sullivan struggled with Charlie Mitchell, Dempsey with Willie Meehan, Ali couldn't beat Norton. Forget Usyk!! Let Fury beat Whyte then corner Usyk and bomb him out. Then challenge Fury in a fight that Joshua is as well situated to overcome as anyone on earth. Beat The unbeatable champion after dropping two. ....Ali style.
That would be pretty clever.
They keep pushing it back to age Usyk a bit more, hoping he slows down. Scumbags.
Pretty sure there is deadline in the rematch clause contract. Not to mention, Usyk could make life difficult for Hearn in negotiations, and state that Hearn said it would be in February so that's when it has to be. Usyk, Hearn, and AJ are all buddies I think. They must all want it to be in June. But I agree with you there is a trend of these promoters always promising to make the fights earlier than they make them. Whatever month they float initially, the fight usually happens 2 to 5 months later at the best of times, if not 5 to 10 years later in worse cases.