Comments Thread For: Anthony Joshua: First Time In My Career We're Working On Game Plan Ahead Of Usyk Rematch

[BigZ44]

McCracken is bollocks

[NachoMan]

sick and tired of joshua. he is always fighting for HW title after losing twice. he holds the belt hostage. cant get rid of him and there is so much money behind him the guys that beat him cant resist the big payday

He lost the titles against Ruiz Jr., won them back, lost them to Usyk, had a rematch clause, so now he gets the chance to win them back. That's how boxing works. What's the problem?

[Wacked_Out]

What does that mean?

Stop. Please don't ask that! We don't need to hear that answer. Theres a space. His daddy fills it. Isn't that enough?

[Monty Fisto]

In a way it is semantics. He has boxed with certain approaches before, but perhaps not with one specific gameplan. They obviously had a couple of strategies for Ruiz 2. It wasn't just one game plan though -- you can see how he pretty much switched after Ruiz cut him. The overall approach was simple: light on his feet, keep the jab constantly out there to maintain distance, stay tall. But in the first two rounds Joshua was more in and out and far more willing to lay on the right hand and hook with the left. Once he got cut at the end of the second, the approach did change -- the jab was used even more and he was clinching more once he had come in, once they were separated he was using his feet even more than before.

Anyway, there is a good reason not to have too specific a gameplan: it is inflexible.

Many of those trying to tear strips off Joshua/McCracken for not having a game plan will have posted in these thread in the past Tyson's quote about "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."

Generally playing to your own strengths while being aware of your opponents weaknesses and tendencies is sensbile. Obsessing over a specific course of actions based on a prediction of how your opponent will behave is ill-advised because they might just surprise you with something new and then all your prepwork goes out the window.

[vitali1999]

Finally after July we'll be done with his once a year fighting ass holding up the heavyweight division. He can fight once a year without any belts, see how he likes that ****

[Atletisock]

I'm not even sure Joshua wouldve beat that Loughborough Uni student who took the piss out of him for pricing himself out of the Fury fight.

[PRINCEKOOL]

I've rated Usyk highly since I saw him in the WBSS. He was awesome in that tournament. I also rate AJ highly, and Usyk beat him clearly. So why wouldn't I rate Usyk?

You are spending so much time talking about what AJ is going to do to Usyk in the rematch, you seem to have forgotten that they already fought each other! You can't just ignore the result of a fight because it didn't go the way you expected.

We have a "big man" champion in HW division right now, Tyson Fury, and I'm a big fan of his. But I'm also realistic, as are Fury and his team. There was a reason why they wanted a "tune up" - aka a huge payday - against Dillian Whyte before risking the WBC title against Uysk. They know what a formidable opponent he is for anyone.

I would not say Usyk is formidable, but what he is showing these heavyweights is something they are not used to in today's super heavyweight era.

Speed of operation and speed of application. Uysk is just operating in a different gear. This is not just a physical thing, it is also a intellectual attribute.

One of the drawbacks of these super heavyweights is that they operate, at a slower speed. They decode information and react to it slower than past heavyweights of other era's.

Lennox Lewis was not quite the same, because he was surrounded by classical heavyweights 'So Lewis had that ability to operate at their level'.

Usyk has not shown in any of his fights, that he can fight on the inside. And if Joshua fights the fight, I think he will fight. For me the only way for Usyk to win is to then force the fight on the inside.

There is a possibility that the longer the fight goes, the more long range ware-fare will come into play. This is why I believe that Joshua has to stop Usyk inside 6-8 rounds etc.

[PRINCEKOOL]

Why do you need inside game with that superior footwork when you can get out of almost every situation .

If Joshua commits to a aggressive fight, Usyk is not getting away.

If Usyk could not get away from Chisora, until he slowed down? Then he for sure is not getting away from Anthony Joshua.

[Earl-Hickey]

Wlad and Usyk, have sparred, while Wlad was champion, and it didn't go well for Wlad. He couldn't land a punch on Usyk and never had him back as a sparring partner again.

The big men like Wlad, Vitali, Lewis, never had to fight anybody remotely similar to Usyk. He's a one-off, like Ali was in the 60s, so who knows if that "big man" style would work against him in a fight? I have my doubts, tbh.

Wlad and Usyk spared in the lead up to the Tyson Fury fight btw and this is very important. That's the Wlad that looked poor vs Bryant Jennings and lost every round to Fury, not the one who won every round vs a prime David Haye and Povetkin

Theres a pretty big difference and I get a bit tired of hearing how Wlad struggled with Usyk in sparring, he was struggling with everyone at that stage in his career.

[P to the J]

I think this proves even Usyk's win over Joshua is overrated.
Putting him as P4P #1 is so ******. There's a reason even Canelo was considering moving up to fight Makabu.
Why is it always a white guy? First Loma, then Canelo, now Usyk.
Give Crawford and Spence their props. Winner of that fight is the most skilled (offensively/defensively) and toughest fighter out there.

Huh? Weren’t Andre Ward and Floyd Mayweather P4P no.1 for years until retirement? Hadn’t Crawford been alternating with Lomachenko occasionally, until Canelo took over at the top?