Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk: boxers’ predictions

The Anthony Joshua-Oleksandr Usyk clash is one of the most anticipated and intriguing bouts of the year.

Joshua, the bigger and heavier fighter, is the favorite going into the fight but Usyk is no pushover and if the former undisputed cruiserweight king came out on top it wouldn’t be regarded as a major upset.

Both boxers won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games. AJ was the best in the super-heavyweight division, while Usyk took glory at heavyweight.

Whoever emerges victorious at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday is expected to be facing the winner of the Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3, scheduled for October.

Current and former boxers probably know these fighters better than almost anybody else and they have given their predictions on the outcome of the fight.

Tyson Fury

As previously mentioned, ‘The Gipsy King’ is preparing for his third fight with Deontay Wilder. Fury believes Usyk doesn’t belong in the same class as Joshua and himself. Actually, he believes Derek Chisora should have been awarded the victory against Usyk when they fought last October.

“I think he's a pumped-up cruiserweight who struggles with heavyweights. He certainly struggled with Derek Chisora, and Joshua is a much bigger, stronger man than Derek. I think he walks straight through Usyk”, he said.

Timothy Bradley

Bradley, a former two-division world champion and current ESPN analyst, thinks Usyk has to fight more intelligently to win and avoid Joshua’s long reach. And he thinks the Ukrainian will get the job done.

“If [Usyk] stays on the outside, I think Joshua is going to line him up with his right hand, line him up with his left hook, and things are going to be very difficult for him in this fight”, he stated. “It’s a great fight. I’m going for Usyk. I think he’ll pull off the upset”, he concluded.

David Haye

Haye was Chisora’s coach when Usyk defeated him via unanimous decision. The Ukrainian victory didn’t impress Haye, a former heavyweight champion: “If Anthony Joshua decides to just use his jab and try to score points he’d have some trouble, but he’s not stupid enough to do that”, he said.

Haye added that “AJ is gonna use his beautiful jab, use his height and reach advantage, use his size and weight advantage and his punch power advantage. He’s just better all around and it’s just gonna be pretty devastating.”

Rolando Romero

Two months after winning the biggest fight of his short career and scoring a secondary title by knocking out Anthony Yigit, Romero is siding with Usyk and thinks that he may even knock Joshua out.

“Usyk is a great fighter. I just need to see how he performs at heavyweight. At cruiserweight, he’s probably the best of all time and Joshua doesn’t have much of a chin”, he said.

Dillian Whyte

As he waits for his own heavyweight title shot, Whyte is not convinced at all on Usyk’s possibilities against Joshua. He said that he was unimpressed with his performances against Chazz Witherspoon and Dereck Chisora.

“He looked terrible in those heavyweight fights. He has no punch power. At cruiserweight, his movement was nice, but at heavyweight, his movement is not nice. It's just so negative.”

Chris Eubank Jr.

Eubank Jr. is well aware of Usyk’s talent but ultimately he thinks Joshua’s power will be too much for him to handle: “Usyk is extremely smart and can certainly box, he has shown that at cruiserweight but I just don’t think he has the size to beat someone like Anthony."

Moreover, Eubank mentioned AJ’s skills to adapt and change strategies besides his power punches: “Anthony has shown that he is smart too, he demonstrated that in the rematch with Ruiz where he really boxed well. I would fancy Anthony to win that fight”.