Usyk vs Joshua 2: Tyson Fury blockbuster could finally be on the cards if AJ avenges defeat

When Tyson Fury stormed back into heavyweight boxing and ripped the WBC title from Deontay Wilder’s grasp two-and-a-half years ago, an all-British, undisputed blockbuster with unified champion Anthony Joshua looked to be on the horizon.

Fury’s crushing stoppage of Wilder, hitherto the most fearsome fighter on the planet and undefeated in 43 contests, handed the UK a monopoly of the sport’s flagship belts and set up a potentially historic battle against Joshua, one which would have crowned the first king of the division for over two decades.

The once-in-a-lifetime event promised to transcend boxing in a way this country has never seen before, with a 90,000-seater Wembley Stadium perhaps not even sufficient to accommodate its unparalleled level of hysteria.

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua appeared set for an undisputed heavyweight clash in 2021

That was before Deontay Wilder won an arbitration which ordered Fury to meet him again

Though just as the stars seemed to have aligned for Joshua and Fury, in fitting fashion Wilder produced a knockout blow right at the death by winning a legal case which forced the Gypsy King to forget about his undisputed plans and instead face him for a third time in 2021.

Having already agreed a deal in principle to meet that summer, Wilder’s trump card came as a major setback to Britain’s pair of heavyweight emperors, who had no choice but to shelve their box-office rivalry until 2022 at the earliest.

Fury turned his attention back to Wilder and a trilogy bout he would ultimately win in exhilarating fashion. Joshua, meanwhile, was handed one of the toughest tests imaginable against WBO mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion turned heavyweight contender.

And of course, in September of last year Usyk, despite being overlooked by a large chunk of ex-fighters, trainers, pundits and fans, outclassed AJ in London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to put an even greater dent in his proposed showdown with Fury.

The latter held up his end of the bargain a few weeks later, pulling himself off the canvas twice to knock out Wilder in a true heavyweight classic, before inflicting similar punishment on Dillian Whyte at Wembley back in April.

The Gypsy King held up his end of the bargain by knocking out Wilder in their trilogy bout

Joshua, meanwhile, was given a bitterly tough mandatory challenger in Oleksandr Usyk

Usyk then put the greatest dent yet in AJ’s proposed clash with Fury by beating him on points

Fury will now be waiting in the wings and watching closely as Joshua bids to avenge his defeat against Usyk in Saudi Arabia this weekend. He claims to have retired from boxing, to have bowed out at the top of the game – but don’t be fooled. 

There is a reason the WBC have given their beloved champion a deadline of August 26 to officially retire and vacate his belt, despite now insisting on two separate occasions that he has hung up his gloves.

Like the rest of us, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman is well aware that a Joshua victory in the Middle East would finally clear the coast for him to lock horns with Fury after years of squabbles, obstacles and banana skins.

Should it play out that way on Saturday night it would almost be unfathomable for Fury to pass up the payday of a lifetime against his domestic foe and remain happy in retirement. It would also be near-enough impossible for him to resist the irritation of AJ flexing his muscles again after such a seismic triumph.

With that in mind, Joshua has the power to alter the heavyweight landscape in dramatic fashion at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports Centre. By rising from the ashes and toppling Usyk he could set the wheels in motion for the biggest sporting event in Britain since the 1966 World Cup final – barring the two fighters heading for Saudi once more.

Fury now claims to have retired after producing another knockout win over Dillian Whyte

But he will be waiting in the wings watching Usyk’s rematch with Joshua closely this weekend

Yet, to do so he will need to pull out the performance of his career against a pugilistic genius many regard as the No 1 pound-for-pound fighter in world boxing right now.

Usyk made a mockery of lazy suggestions that he was too small to dethrone the 6ft 6in champion last September. Instead, the masterful Ukrainian made him pay for moving back in straight lines and trying to play chess with the chess master, finding regular success with his backhand and bamboozling his heavier opponent by popping in and out of range at blistering speed.

Joshua’s tactic to stay at arm’s length was an incredibly foolish one, which he has acknowledged by parting company with long-time mentor Robert McCracken and hiring world-level trainer Robert Garcia, renowned for bringing out the best in his fighters from an offensive standpoint.  

Garcia, one of the most esteemed coaches in the game, is tasked with masterminding his revival and he certainly has his work cut out in doing so. Being honest, Joshua has not looked the same fighter since Andy Ruiz Jr brought him crashing down to earth three years ago, a damaging defeat which appears to have shattered his confidence, not to mention they are up against a modern-day great with very few weaknesses in Usyk.

A Joshua win in the Middle East would alter the heavyweight landscape dramatically

But he is up against a pugilistic genius in former undisputed cruiserweight king Usyk

This time around he has esteemed Mexican trainer Robert Garcia working in his corner

Cracking the code to beat him is easier said than done. The obvious answer, as most armchair experts seem to have worked out, is for Joshua to get up close, impose his superior size and wear him down. But the former undisputed cruiserweight king is too savvy an operator to be undone by such a basic blueprint, especially against an opponent with little to no experience of fighting that way.

Joshua has never been one for a gritty brawl and, in truth, doesn’t boast the engine to manhandle someone for 12 rounds. He looked out on his feet at the end of the first fight, with Usyk coming close to a stoppage in the final seconds after physically and mentally exhausting him.

It goes without saying that he needs to apply greater pressure on Saturday night, though this pressure has to be educated and in short, sharp bursts to avoid sapping energy and walking on to counterpunches. Back in September there were fleeting glimpses of the problems he can cause Usyk and the tide even felt like it had turned in the fifth and sixth rounds, only for the latter to find his feet again and retrieve control from the seventh onwards.

To emerge victorious, Joshua has to make him warier about what’s coming back this time, and there aren’t many better attacking coaches out there than Garcia.

In his rematch with Usyk, Joshua needs to apply more educated pressure to come out on top

The Mexican has guided 14 men to world championships in his training career, including Marcos Maidana, Brandon Rios, Jose Ramirez, Abner Mares and brother Mikey. 

Virtually all of the aforementioned five shared similar traits; durable, physically strong and capable of employing aggression and roughhouse tactics up close to wear opponents down. 

However, the only concern is that Joshua is not cut from the same cloth as these fighters; he has never been a volume puncher capable of throwing 100 punches per round a la Maidana vs Floyd Mayweather in 2014, nor does he have the inside ability to rough someone up and bully them from close distance.

As Fury recently pointed out, he will likely gas out and be stopped by attempting to perform with similar intensity. Although the aim for Garcia will be to bring the former heavyweight champion’s best attributes to the surface, not turn him into a 240lbs Maidana.

One weapon in Joshua’s arsenal that he will surely look to utilise more frequently is body punching. On the rare occasion he whipped in an attack to Usyk’s midriff last time out the natural cruiserweight appeared in some discomfort, retreating backwards after feeling the effect of Joshua’s stinging power.

Given Usyk’s head is always bobbing up, down, left and right, targeting the body could be the key to victory for AJ this weekend. At the end of the sixth and throughout the eighth round of their first encounter he found success by doing so, briefly stopping him in his tracks and earning time to fire shots upstairs.

Moving left instead of in straight lines after throwing will steer him clear of Usyk’s backhand

So much is riding on this crucial rematch for Joshua, who needs a win to revive his career

He cannot allow Usyk to build similar momentum and get into his groove early on this time around, and his best chance of preventing that is with regular attacks to his midsection.

Garcia’s brother, former pound-for-pound chief Mikey, was a ferocious body puncher when at the peak of his powers, so if AJ can harness the same techniques and methods of his new gym-mate he will boost his chances of revenge.

The Watford man has also been guilty of moving backwards in straight lines after unleashing his own attacks. Usyk was quick and clever enough to capitalise on that last time out, with his crisp left hand finding the target far too frequently. Moving to his left after throwing can steer Joshua clear of that shot and force Usyk to try closing the distance himself, which Garcia will hope to thwart with body work.

A historic showdown with Fury to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion is on the line

It is difficult to envisage a fighting juggernaut as talented and intelligent as Usyk succumbing to the power and losing inside the distance, he is simply too good. Though that doesn’t mean Joshua is incapable of banking rounds and regaining his titles on the scorecards.

Failing to do so would be a devastating blow for the heavyweight division; as Joshua himself would either be forced to retire or drop down to a level he has not boxed at for some time – and having already amassed a fortune the former option seems more feasible – while Fury will probably walk away from the sport for good rather than return for a trickier and less lucrative bout against Usyk.

Thus, a Joshua triumph in Jeddah this weekend would be a seminal moment for British sport as a whole. History beckons against Fury if he finds redemption once more.