Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk Rematch Keys to Victory

Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk in 2022

WagerTalk’s resident boxing handicapper Kevin Dolan offers his early analysis of a Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk rematch, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in early 2022. Usyk defeated Joshua in London for the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles in just his third heavyweight fight. What can we expect in a potential rematch?

There are TWO huge fight cards spread across two countries on Saturday as Liam Smith vs Anthony Fowler headlines on DAZN in Liverpool before Tyson Fury takes on Deontay Wilder for a third time on Fox PPV in Las Vegas. Kevin Dolan has a 9-pack of plays on this weekend’s boxing card, and you can get the whole package for $1 using promo code BOXING1 at checkout!

Anthony Joshua Keys to Victory

On Saturday, September 25th at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, the world witnessed a new unified heavyweight champion crowned king as Oleksandr Usyk put on an absolute masterclass against former WBA, IBF and WBO belt holder Anthony Joshua in one of the most complete performances we’ve seen in a ring in quite some time.

Usyk’s hair trigger straight left hand created a massive problem for Joshua early on in that fight as the bigger man was continually kept on the back foot throughout with a combination of a stiff jab, lateral movement by the Ukrainian and terrific feints by Usyk which had Joshua unable to get off shots as he was kept in reaction mode all night. The victory was so complete that many observers are wondering what exactly Joshua can do in a rematch to find success.

Andy Ruiz was a relatively simple puzzle to crack. Stay away from the smaller man’s electric hands and keep the fight at range which Joshua achieved with relative ease in their rematch over in Saudi Arabia back at the end of 2019.
But Usyk presents a far greater challenge to Joshua than Ruiz did so how exactly does he go about reclaiming his throne?

Some people have suggested a change of trainers as perhaps GB team coach Rob McCracken has taken the Londoner as far as he can go. I would caution against this personally. Firstly, there’s trust in that camp that simply goes beyond what many fighters and trainers experience. The absolute trust Joshua put into McCracken’s gameplan for the Andy Ruiz Jr. rematch was markedly evident as Joshua carried out McCracken’s instructions to a tee in that one. For Joshua to simply upsticks and potentially go abroad to find a new trainer, even an elite one, is going to be a very hard dynamic to find to try and replicate that same synergy he has with McCracken.

Secondly, McCracken is one of the most adaptable trainers in world boxing, making him one of the most elite also. We’ve already talked about Joshua’s complete change of style ahead of the Ruiz Jr. rematch but Rob McCracken has a long history of tailoring his fighter’s gameplan’s to match those of his opponents.

Carl Froch, a former McCracken champion, was a fighter built on wars and attrition. Froch was a fighter with an absolutely granite chin who thrived on outworking opponents and looking for the finish. Fighting Arthur Abraham back in 2010 in the Super Six tournament, another fighter who looked to come in on the inside and trade huge shots with power in both hands, had war written all over it. With only six fighters from thirty-three surviving to hear the final bell against Abraham, the stage was set for what was sure to be an explosive encounter. What we got instead was anything but.

For pretty much the first time in his boxing career, Froch came in, utilized a very under-rated jab and simply stayed patiently outside, outboxing the pondering Abraham from distance, leading to a wide points decision win for the British fighter. Two years later after unsuccessfully taking on Andre Ward in the Super Six final, Froch was back in action again against undefeated Romanian-Canadian Lucien Bute, who most observers felt could well be the best super-middleweight in the world at that time, at least until a definitive fight was paired between him and Ward to settle the dispute. Bute went in as the favorite in that fight as skill-wise at least, many people felt he had too much talent for Froch who had been thoroughly undressed by Ward in his fight prior. Fans never got the chance to find out though as, contrary to the Abraham fight, Froch came in to this one and absolutely steamrolled Bute inside of five rounds in what ended up being a one sided beatdown in front of his home crowd Nottingham support, far from the boxing display he had put on previously against Abraham.

Rob McCracken therefore has shown a remarkable ability to be flexible when dealing with opponents in the past, but especially in rematch tactics where he has excelled, more recently with AJ/Ruiz, but also in Froch/Groves 2 as well, where Froch looked far sharper in that fight, roughhousing Groves and eventually catching him with a monstrous straight right hand in the 8th, closing the show.

Huge weekend of Boxing ahead with a standout card over in Liverpool between Smith & Fowler live on #DAZN folowed by the trilogy fight between Fury & Wilder over in Las Vegas on Fox PPV!
Tune in for my full breakdown of the Fury/Wilder showdown live on Wed’s #WagertalkToday show!

— Kevin Dolan (@TheSportsWolf83) October 4, 2021

So what does Team Joshua do here? One thing is clear. To try and out-box Usyk for a second time would and should be considered a non-starter here as the Ukrainian showed why he’s probably the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet right now.

In many regards when Team Joshua look back at film of the first fight it might well be a wake-up call to them and a future benefit. Over his last few fights Joshua’s been fooled into thinking he’s somewhat of a high level technician. Getting undressed in the manner that he was in that first fight against Usyk will no doubt have them re-evaluating that decision, and possibly give him a lot more preparation if the Fury fight ever did come off down the road as the same outcome would have likely occurred.

Joshua needs to use his natural advantages in this fight. He’s the much bigger man and hits with a lot more power also. That’s a dangerous combination and with the tendency to stop fights earlier in the UK than are abroad, that’s another advantage and an early Joshua onslaught here in the rematch might well end up getting stopped and waived off by the referee if Usyk’s unable to reply in time.

Usyk, while being excellent defensively, has a tendency to roll with shots also instead of blocking or evading them, which doesn’t always appear the best visually. Dereck Chisora was able to rough-house Usyk early in their fight, cuffing him around with big clubbing shots, that, while they did little actual damage, looked like they were giving Usyk serious problems in there leading to many fans thinking Chisora was hard done by initially in that fight.

If Joshua can bring that same kind of intensity here, channel that inner Chisora so to speak, then he has a chance to avenge his loss in this one. Putting the onslaught on early against Usyk and cuffing him around the ring with big, thudding shots, even if they’re not landing particularly clean, may be enough to close the show here. We saw it back in July with Joe Joyce against Carlos Takam and again with Conor Benn versus Samuel Vargas back in April where that visual of unloading bombs, even without a knockdown, is often enough to have British referee’s waive a fight off prematurely, especially if the hometown fighter is involved.

That dynamic of Joshua’s size and power, mixed with Usyk’s visually unappealing defensive style, even if it is among one of the best in the sport, may be enough to get Joshua a stoppage in this one, especially in the eyes of a hostile crowd and a lenient referee. To me at least, that’s Joshua’s best chance of victory in this rematch as anything else likely has him lose for a second time against arguably the greatest cruiserweight of all-time in Oleksandr Usyk (yes, I hear you in the back Evander Holyfield fans!).

Whichever way it goes it should no doubt be another fascinating Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk fight between two of the best in the business right now at heavyweight.

Boxing Betting Tips

There’s still a special mystique surrounding a big fight weekend, and there’s nothing better than having a couple bucks on the main event. Professional boxing handicapper Kevin Dolan goes everything you need to know when it comes to betting on boxing, including some of his favorite strategies when handicapping an event.

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