Comments Thread For: Eddie Hearn: AJ Felt Usyk Rematch Was A Disaster; I Thought He Performed Very Well

[Rebelrbg]

Point taken, he might do better but even with any trainer,the fighter has to have the heart and the will to win and am just not sure if AJ has that

We will have a better perspective on how he looks with James as his trainer the next fight after the soft touch Franklin fight.

[deathofaclown]

He did about as well as he could

B level fighter against an Elite fighter, that’s what it was and it showed over the 2 fights.

[SteveM]

At-least Joshua has fought Usyk twice back to back.

Performance wise? It was by no means a disaster.

Joshua was not knocked out or beaten up 'And Joshua was competitive'.

Skill for skill on pure boxing ability 'Joshua vs Usyk II was one of Joshua's best performances'.

Of course sport, and boxing is a game were your aim is to win.

But if you was to value the actual performances of a fighter, and just view the sport purely from that perspective.

As a boxer Joshua has to see the positives from his performances against Usyk.

There are more positives he can take from fighting Usyk twice back to back, going 24 rounds and pushing Usyk 'Than beating up fighters like Whyte & Franklin'.

Anthony Joshua tested himself vs the most accomplished active fighter in the sport 'And Joshua was relevant in the fight'.

Out of the two fighters in the rematch 'Joshua improved his effort the most' If the third fight was made, it is highly likely this trajectory will continue 'Joshua will push Usyk even closer'.

And that would be enough for me to back Joshua for the win.

It was his best performance - although he lost. That can happen. If your last performance was your best performance then you are, by definition, still improving.

[SteveM]

Usyk is a cruiserweight. Don't leave that part out.

trolling? WAS a cruiserweight - or do you want to discredit all of Holyfield's defeated foes as well? Ray Mercer, Bert Cooper, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Buster Douglas ? ... all lost to a cruiserweight

[kafkod]

He might, I just don't know for sure, because Joshua's trainer was telling him he's doing great all fight, instead of inciting that "go for the kill now " type of work that AJ needed to put in immediately after the 9th round.

It wouldn't have made any difference what AJ's corner told him after the 9th. All the work he did in that round took more out of him than it took out of Usyk.

Usyk came out for the 10th bursting with energy like it was round one all over again, tore straight into AJ, and AJ was too busy defending himself to "go for the kill"

[Hustle]

trolling? WAS a cruiserweight - or do you want to discredit all of Holyfield's defeated foes as well? Ray Mercer, Bert Cooper, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Buster Douglas ? ... all lost to a cruiserweight

Stay focused. We are talking about usyk and joshua

Joshua surviving a cruiserweight isn't to be applauded.

[PRINCEKOOL]

It was his best performance - although he lost. That can happen. If your last performance was your best performance then you are, by definition, still improving.

Joshua in certain area's of his game is possibly still improving, but I don't think he has put it all together in one fight 'And one performance'.

For example in his last performance vs Usyk? I would say skill for skill, boxing from long range to mid-range and managing the pace of a fight 'It was definitely in his top-3 best ever performances'.

You can only really rate his performance vs Kiltschko higher. Because Kiltschko was a elite level boxer, with big power.

But was Joshua the best he has ever been with his offense vs Usyk II? No. Joshua has displayed a more brutal and intense offense in past fights I,E Against Wladimir Kiltschko.

And I don't even think this is a technical thing. Joshua's temperament in top level fights since he won the World title for the second time 'Is more measured and composed'.

Were before the loss to Ruiz Junior I, I don't think he was as measured or composed 'This both worked for him, but also against him'.

I just think Joshua traits as a fighter both inside and outside of the ring. He is all about preparation and the long game 'Joshua has a near psychopathic work ethic, and he is also obsessively analytical'.

And all of these traits most likely helped him raise his game for the rematch 'A fight which many people, boxing insiders, former fighters advised Joshua not to take'. The universal opinion was that Joshua was going to be beaten up and possibly stopped in the rematch vs Usyk 'Those two things did not happen'.

Out of the two fighters Joshua's effort was the most improved 'Joshua so far in his career, has shown that he fights better in rematches'. He beat Ruiz Junior in the rematch, and fought in a manner nobody really anticipated 'I personally did not like the way he fought Ruiz Junior, but he won'. And against Usyk II, he made that fight more competitive 'Did not get beat up and managed the pace much better'.

If the third fight with Usyk was called for, the empirical evidence suggest that Joshua will push Usyk even closer.

That is a good enough reason for me to back him for the win.

[_Rexy_]

At-least Joshua has fought Usyk twice back to back.

Performance wise? It was by no means a disaster.

Joshua was not knocked out or beaten up 'And Joshua was competitive'.

Skill for skill on pure boxing ability 'Joshua vs Usyk II was one of Joshua's best performances'.

Of course sport, and boxing is a game were your aim is to win.

But if you was to value the actual performances of a fighter, and just view the sport purely from that perspective.

As a boxer Joshua has to see the positives from his performances against Usyk.

There are more positives he can take from fighting Usyk twice back to back, going 24 rounds and pushing Usyk 'Than beating up fighters like Whyte & Franklin'.

Anthony Joshua tested himself vs the most accomplished active fighter in the sport 'And Joshua was relevant in the fight'.

Out of the two fighters in the rematch 'Joshua improved his effort the most' If the third fight was made, it is highly likely this trajectory will continue 'Joshua will push Usyk even closer'.

And that would be enough for me to back Joshua for the win.

He was beaten up and had a mental breakdown after

[shenmue]

The most disastrous was the one idiot judge giving AJ the win, the champ should have two UD wins over the bodybuilder.

[Rebelrbg]

It wouldn't have made any difference what AJ's corner told him after the 9th. All the work he did in that round took more out of him than it took out of Usyk.

Usyk came out for the 10th bursting with energy like it was round one all over again, tore straight into AJ, and AJ was too busy defending himself to "go for the kill"

Exactly what I was stating, he was being cautious instead of digging deep to finish his job. Tired or not, legacy and victory are on the line, and his trainer should have let that be known emphatically. Go use your strength and size advantages to get him out of here, because if he gets confident from having a good round after almost being done, it changes the momentum of the fight.