One of the best Cruiserweights of all time, Oleksander Usyk is now scheduled to face the unified heavyweight champion, Antony Josuha. Prior to moving up, Usyk was the undisputed cruiserweight champion, which means he at one point held all the major belts in the division. He will have a chance to become the next heavyweight champion on 25 Sept if he gets past Anthony Joshua.
Many already consider Usyk as the greatest cruiserweight mainly because of who he has beaten in the division, but in terms of boxing, the heavyweight division is the premier league of the sport. The rich history is what makes it one of the most entertaining divisions, as they say, there is no other division like the heavyweights.
The problem with Usyk is, he might not possess the power of a heavyweight which means he may not be able to knock out his opponent but rather he compensates it with his boxing skills, footwork, and fundamentals. Usyk still has the speed advantage and his footwork could confuse Joshua.
In Usyk’s pro boxing run, he has 18 pro fights and became the undisputed champion at just his 15th fight. Basically, Usyk’s greatest strength is his ring IQ and footwork. Usyk usually starts slow in a fight but eventually gets better as the fight goes on. A strategy that could give problems to bigger guys since they carry their body weight throughout the fight.
Although Anthony Joshua is one of the best heavyweights for a reason, he has fought all types of fighters. He is coming off an impressive win against Kubrat Pulev where he stopped Pulev in the 9th round. Joshua has shown that he could brawl, fight on the outside and use his reach advantage or even knock his opponent out early.
It is an interesting match-up on paper, where a smaller guy will need to be perfect for 12 rounds but Joshua can end the night with just one punch. Usyk has been so dominant in all his fights, winning most of the rounds or a knockout in the later rounds.
If Usyk stayed at Cruiserweight, he could have reigned for long time but he wanted challenges and obviously the title of being the baddest man on the planet. In terms of pound-for-pound rankings, Usyk is currently ranked fourth which shows how good he is. The question is will his skill be enough to beat a bigger Anthony Joshua who is not just big but a skilled boxer as well?
Usyk is no stranger to facing a heavyweight as he has already faced and beat Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora. It is a huge step up of competition facing Anthony Joshua, but Usyk has the capabilities to outbox Joshua and a knockout is always a possibility.
