Comments Thread For: Andy Ruiz Could See Joshua Getting Revenge on Usyk in Saudi Arabia

[GlassJoey]

Ruiz beat AJ because he sc****d himself off the canvas, stepped back into the pocket, and landed a perfect (lucky?) punch. I'm not taking anything away from Ruiz. That fight was a real donnybrook and Andy dug deeper and won. AJ was simply not going to allow that to happen in their rematch and implemented the tools and strategy to see that it didn't. I'm not one who dumps on AJ for his performance in the Ruiz rematch. There was a low-risk path to victory, and he took it.

The Usyk rematch is, however, the perfect inverse of the Ruiz rematch. He can't fight Usyk at range or off the back foot. Not engaging Olek the way he did Ruiz isn't an option, because he isn't nimble or athletic enough to do it. If he tries, Usyk will engage and dismantle him. When the Cat gets his opponent to start backing or circling to their own left, they're lost. See his fights against Gassiev, Bellew, Hunter, Huck, etc.

AJ needs to maul Usyk, but can he? No one has yet. AJ's task here is to beat a faster, more athletic, more agile, more skilled (but yes, smaller) opponent who also has better stamina and better punch resistance. That is a very tall order.

I agree with your analysis but I thought Chisora did a good job of mauling Usyk (not good enough to win but enough to keep him honest for long periods). Unfortunately for AJ, he has neither the chin or gas tank that Del Boy has

[P to the J]

I agree, experience is a big advantage. That’s why I think Joshua will adjust and win. Joshua doesn’t know how to use his size against small , fast men. He SHOULD know now. If not, that’s his problem.

Usyk will prove too fast and too good for everyone, not just Joshua, IMO, but a guy who started boxing at 19 will never have the tools to beat a seasoned, excellent amateur, no matter how big they are.

AJ should know how to beat everyone else in the division, bar Fury (whether he actually does or not is a different matter), but the only people expecting a walkover vs. Usyk were people who only watched his fights with Chisora and Witherspoon.

[Quercusalba]

I agree with your analysis but I thought Chisora did a good job of mauling Usyk (not good enough to win but enough to keep him honest for long periods). Unfortunately for AJ, he has neither the chin or gas tank that Del Boy has

Usyk most definitely did not like Chisora's rough house tactics, and they did win Del Boy three or five rounds depending on the judges. I thought four at most, but hey it is pretty obvious where my heart lies.

I think you nailed it. If AJ goes the Chisora route, he'll probably gas out and get clipped. We'll find out soon enough!

[hhh1200]

faster, more athletic, more agile, more skilled (but yes, smaller) opponent who also has better stamina and better punch resistance. That is a very tall order.

Someone will always have the superman Eastern European or Central Asian breakdown.

[Quercusalba]

Someone will always have the superman Eastern European or Central Asian breakdown.

Nope. It is simply my assessment of their contrasting attributes irrespective of race or national origin.

If Usyk was fighting Sanchez, I'd say Sanchez is faster. If Usyk was fighting Joyce, I'd say their stamina is comparable, and Joyce probably has better punch resistance. If AJ was fighting Helenius, I'd say AJ is faster and more athletic. And so on, and so on...

[Roberto Vasquez]

To your out of context plain Fury hate signature rob,
Fury has beaten 2 world number 1s for all the belts in theyre own back yards as the underdog, he's had the greatest trilogy since Bowe Holyfield & Whyte #4 in the last couple of year's.
Aj though has never boxed a top 2 heavyweight & don't say Klitschko he was unranked in the tbrb before the fight.

My signature is just facts. AJ and Wilder both have a ton of title defenses and Fury doesn't. Maybe if they had retired rather than fight a guy they were scared of, they would be unbeaten too?

My point is - maybe Fury is the greatest boxer ever. But if if he is - why doesn't he almost never fight anyone on the top-20 and why does he only have 2 title defenses. He didn't have a great amateur record - when he couldn't pick his fights....

I'll be the first to support Fury when he starts fighting all comers. When he "retired" rather than fight Usyk I was sick in my mouth a bit. Just tired of that guy wasting our time. I like real fighters.

[crimsonfalcon07]

People talk about the Chisora fight like it's some sort of blueprint for beating Usyk, but it's still worth remembering that was early on in his heavyweight rise. Putting on extra weight takes a toll on the joints and movement, and makes it much harder to work head movement and complicated footwork.

It takes about 6 months to even start to see progress being able to move it about, and a couple years to really get used to carrying the extra weight. Not as big of a deal coming up in the lower weight classes until you reach your natural weight class, but a big deal if you're fighting above your natural weight class, and a bigger deal in the wide spread of heavyweight. If you watch the fights vs Chisora and then Joshua, you'll see a distinct difference in head movement, feints, explosive entries and exits, and just straight activity. I also don't think Joshua has a "go to war" mentality. X-factor is how the actual war will affect Usyk. May work either for or against him. I suspect people don't give Usyk enough credit. He's won every title in enemy territory, after all.

[Toffee]

People talk about the Chisora fight like it's some sort of blueprint for beating Usyk, but it's still worth remembering that was early on in his heavyweight rise. Putting on extra weight takes a toll on the joints and movement, and makes it much harder to work head movement and complicated footwork.

It takes about 6 months to even start to see progress being able to move it about, and a couple years to really get used to carrying the extra weight. Not as big of a deal coming up in the lower weight classes until you reach your natural weight class, but a big deal if you're fighting above your natural weight class, and a bigger deal in the wide spread of heavyweight. If you watch the fights vs Chisora and then Joshua, you'll see a distinct difference in head movement, feints, explosive entries and exits, and just straight activity. I also don't think Joshua has a "go to war" mentality. X-factor is how the actual war will affect Usyk. May work either for or against him. I suspect people don't give Usyk enough credit. He's won every title in enemy territory, after all.

I give Usyk all credit. And whoever wins this one will deserve enormous credit. If it's Joshua, hopefully it leads to a trilogy fight though I wouldn't blame Joshua for moving on - it's a business after all.

I don't think the war is a negative factor. It might motivate Usyk more in his preparation but it's not going to hinder him. If Joshua beats Usyk he's beating one of the very best out there and it's a career best win; and right up there with the best wins of an era. Let's not denigrate something that hasn't happened, before it hasn't happened.

I don't see Chisora as any kind of blueprint. He made life uncomfortable for Usyk, but Usyk was still a fairly handy winner. He dealt with what Chisora brought - that's what matters. No-one looks good against Chisora, but good fighters beat him.

But I think common sense says Joshua's pathway needs to be fairly gung-ho. He's not outboxing Usyk so he's going to have to pressure and hurt him. Keep moving forward, be brave, be brutal when he gets the chance.

In all likelihood I think Usyk is good enough to deal with that. He's got more pathways to victory. I'm 70/30 Usyk will win - but it's not 10 fights, it's 1. In one fight, a 30% chance is a decent chance. Really looking forward to it!

[BodyBagz]

A.J has a habit crushing those dreams , Martin , Ruiz now Usyk up next . Giving A.J two losses in a row is not going to be so easy . You’ll see a complete 360 on the forum as usual . Anyone coming up hoping to be a defending champion has to basically beat him twice and I don’t see that happening anytime soon .

Keep in mind when he does win the forum will claim Usyk was not a real champion because he didn’t defend the titles and these same posters will be the ones talking as if Usyk was going to kill A.J and make him retire just like they did with Ruiz .

I like both AJ and Usyk but ''I feel'' AJ is too robotic and can be gassed.
Ruiz should not comment on matters like this.
He had his chance and couldn't see into the future.

[crimsonfalcon07]

I think common sense says Joshua's pathway needs to be fairly gung-ho. He's not outboxing Usyk so he's going to have to pressure and hurt him. Keep moving forward, be brave, be brutal when he gets the chance.

Definitely agree. His best chance is to try to be the bigger man and the bully. But we haven't seen much of that AJ for a long time. My issue is with people who talk about it as if AJ can just make the adjustment that it will be an easy win over Usyk. I think that's a much bigger ask than people think, even leaving AJ's questionable mindset to the side.

The other thing that I think is worth considering is that coming in the bigger man and trying to be a bully, as Fury did with Wilder, slows you down. That could actually make things easier for Usyk. Will be fun to watch either way. My prediction is that Usyk wins again, maybe by late stoppage this time. The fascinating fight would be if he can handle that behemoth Fury. I don't think Usyk is as tiny as people make it sound, but Fury is such a huge guy.