Comments Thread For: Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk Official, September 25 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

[Szef]

Consistently dodged #1 #2 in division.

Your hard on for aj is strong

Who did he dodge and how?

I want a detailed explanation.

[Toffee]

What else do you want? if you want to stand out from the crowd, you'll have to perform better than the rest of the crowd.

Otherwise, many fighters are "credible" in that they are solid contenders. I was talking credibility in terms of standing out from the rest and be the best of his time. The same also applies to Fury or Wilder or anyone else. They are all good, in fact, good fighters, but to be considered the best..you'll have to beat the rest.

You're backtracking.

You said you'd give him no credit for beating Usyk.

He can't fight Wilder or Fury. They're off playing silly sods with each other.

Who do you want him to fight? He's fighting the guy that a real champion should fight. Give him some credit.

[Toffee]

No. To be a champ you need to beat the top guy in the division. That's literally the definition of champion.

AJ avoided 1 and 2 in division consistently.

He got his belts off a fat Mexican who forgot to train for the fight

No it's absolutely literally not the definition. Wilder became champion by beating Stiverne. I guess we'll gloss over that little misunderstanding.

Joshua was the number one in the division. It was him that unified the belts. What rankings do you want to go off? Let's go TBRB, well the fat Mexican was number 1 when Joshua beat him.

To be a true champ you take on all challengers. What do you think Joshua is doing?

[Zelda]

You're backtracking.

You said you'd give him no credit for beating Usyk.

He can't fight Wilder or Fury. They're off playing silly sods with each other.

Who do you want him to fight? He's fighting the guy that a real champion should fight. Give him some credit.

am I?

Where did I say he gets "no credit"? But its not something special, just another average fight. Nor am I blaming him for fighting a mandatory. I have said it ample of times here in different posts. I am just NOT hyping up an average fight with a former cruiserweight who has shown little impressive win in the HW division like many Brits/Eddie/Joshua fans are trying to portray it.

[Toffee]

Where did I say he gets "no credit"? But its not something special, just another average fight. Nor am I blaming him for fighting a mandatory. I have said it ample of times here in different posts. I am just NOT hyping up an average fight with a former cruiserweight who has shown little impressive win in the HW division like many Brits/Eddie/Joshua fans are trying to portray it.

Ok, you said he'd need to beat Wilder, Fury, Ortiz, Whyte (again) and Ruiz (again) to gain 'any credibility'.

Meaning that just beating Usyk (plus his past wins and current titles) would give him no credibility.

beating a cruiserweight that looked ordinary against B and C class HWs is what makes AJ "credible" in your eyes? AJ needs to beat Wilder, Fury, Ortiz, and rematch Whyte and Ruiz to gain any credibility.

[PRINCEKOOL]

AJ weights 250, is taller, has more reach.

OU weights 230, is shorter, shorter reach.

OU needs to be extremelly good, do everything perfect. He can be pushed back.

There is a point in the heavyweight division where you are big enough.

Usyk is 225-230 pounds, that is big enough.

I think people on the sly, are continually trying to discredit this fight 'To make Tyson Fury look great'.

Because outside of Deontay Wilder, Fury is facing fighters continually who have a serve lack of credentials.

This is the second Olympic Gold Medalist, that Anthony Joshua is now facing.

I don't really rate Uysk very highly, but I cannot deny his credentials 'Olympic Champion, Unbeaten and Undisputed Cruiser weight Champion'.

I also don't think Uysk has ever been knocked down during a fight.

This is great preparation for Anthony Joshua, going into the Fury fight. And Joshua needs that preparation because, I still think the momentum is with Tyson Fury in terms of present form etc.

[KingGilgamesh]

End of the day this is the first decent fight Joshua has had since Wlad.

Takam, Parker, Ruiz, Pulev and Povetkin have gone on to do just about sweet **** all so no one can ever convince me that they're anything resembling the best of the division. NO ONE will remember their names in the pantheon of greats. Same way no one gives a **** about 90's fringe contenders.

This fight is in a weird place though. People seem completely split. Some seem to think Usyk is absolute bum where others think he is a genuine threat. You have half of Joshua's fangirls who seem to think he'll walk through him and half making out as if (an albeit very decent) mandatory challenger is somehow indicative of Joshua's status as the defacto best in the division (he still isn't and just about every respected boxing journalist agrees).

The problem, AGAIN, I have with English fighters is that their fanbases seem to made up of the completely delusional...hence you never really know where you stand with them. About the only one who seems to be legit to me right now is Taylor. Fury would be so on skillset but his inconsistency makes me dislike his chances in his next fight. The funny thing is I dont think fighters in any other territory could get away with being considered these potential ATG's despite, in Joshua's case, not having been anywhere near the top 2 in 3+ years and the other, in Fury's case, seeming allergic to defending titles.

[Zelda]

Ok, you said he'd need to beat Wilder, Fury, Ortiz, Whyte (again) and Ruiz (again) to gain 'any credibility'.

Meaning that just beating Usyk (plus his past wins and current titles) would give him no credibility.

I am no Englishman, but to my understanding "to gain" something is to ADD to what you have. So, beating Usyk does not add to his credibility or he gains no credibility out of it. Just another average fight with some good cash return. To beat Fury or Wilder adds to his credibility. His resume remains the same with or without Usyk.

Usyk is mandatory by virtue of his position as a unified cruiserweight and the existing sanctioning body rules, not because he gained that position in the ring beating the second-best HW out there (or even a top 5).

[KingGilgamesh]

I am no Englishman, but to my understanding "to gain" something is to ADD to what you have. So, beating Usyk does not add to his credibility or he gains no credibility out of it. Just another average fight with some good cash return. To beat Fury or Wilder adds to his credibility. His resume remains the same with or without Usyk.

Usyk is mandatory by virtue of his position as a unified cruiserweight and the existing sanctioning body rules, not because he gained that position in the ring beating the second-best HW out there (or even a top 5).

I can't agree with this. Usyk has accomplished too much at cruiser to simply be another bum.

[Ray*]

Very good fight, I really don’t think Joshua wins this. He might need the judges to keep his belts here if he manages to stay on his feet.