Nigerian-born word heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua has been tipped by an expert of the pugilists’ sport to carry the day over his mandatory challenger, Oleksandr Usyk due to sheer size advantage.
Megasportsarena.com reports that this the verdict of Boxing Junkie writer, Michael Rosenthal, who stated in his preview of the big firth this Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, that Joshua should retain his belts – other things being equal.
The expert, however, went on to warn that Usyk must not be underrated, as the Ukrainian has really improved in quality since stepping up from the cruiserweight class, and would be out to make history against the Briton.
Rosenthal added: “The one obvious advantage that Anthony Joshua would seem to have over Oleksandr Usyk going into their title fight Saturday in London is natural size.
“Joshua, who holds three of the four major titles, is 6-foot-6 and fights at 240-plus rounds. Usyk, a mandatory challenger, is a cruiserweight champion-turned-heavyweight who is 6-3 and weighed 217.25 in his last fight.
“However, Joshua doesn’t dismiss Usyk as a blown-up 200-pounder. The Ukrainian’s handlers have declared that Usyk has grown into the division and the champion is inclined to believe them.”
Joshua, though, is not taking his foe with a pinch of salt, as he told DAZN via a zoom call: (Usyk is) A full-fledged heavyweight doesn’t mean weighing like 200 kilograms or 300 pounds.
“It’s just like if you can physical handle them in sparring. One goes four rounds then another gets in and another one gets in. Can you still push and shove heavyweights for 12 rounds when they’re fresh?
“They must see he’s well-conditioned, that he can handle the pressure from heavyweights. They must know exactly how he’s getting on in training, so I can’t go against what they see.”
