SPOILERS | Joshua vs Usyk; Fight Thoughts? How did you score the fight?

[The_budweiser]

Official Scorecards; 115-113 Joshua, 115-113 Usyk & 116-112 Usyk - Usyk by Split Decision

Was I watching a different fight? I scored the fight 117-111 and by 6 rounds in favour of Usyk. Anyone else score it wide like me or did you score it tighter?

Lets start off with Joshua's corner - What was that about? "You're winning every round," that was really poor advice. I thought he started very flat and Usyk was picking up the early rounds. I think it was the third round when his corner said this. At this point I had Joshua losing all 3 rounds.

Joshua sportsmanship was terrible, sore loser!! Picking up Usyk belts and throwing them to the ground. His post fight interview made him look like a proper plonker!

Joshua post fight said "I'm not a 12 round fighter," so why pace yourself? Why not explode on him early on and give everything in the first half of the fight to try get that stoppage?

Welldone Usyk. Lovely footwork, combination punches and workrate. He recovered well a few times and deserved the win.

I don't know how Joshua or his team can be upset with this result.

 

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by The_budweiser

[selij]

10-2 to usyk

[BoztheMadman]

116-112 Usyk, of course. A much better and closer fight than last time, I don't know if I gave Joshua a single round back then. But once again, Usyk the Mustache proves to be AJ's Krpytonite. He is most guys Kryptonite, I think. After such a big round for Joshua in the 9th, that warrior Cossack heart just made Usyk bounce back and Joshua ate shots like a fat guy eats pies, lol! Joshua had to have his little drama moment in the end, but the truth is-he simply CANNOT beat a guy like Usyk. Doesn't have it in him. Glad he has been beaten again, because in the contrary, his ego would just inflate all over again. 

Edited August 21, 2022 by BoztheMadman

[Bear Hugger]

I thought Joshua fought a better fight than last time. He reverted to the old Joshua mid fight when Usyk was stepping up with the pressure. No way was it a split decision, I agree with Boz 116-112.

[TheBoxingMadMan]

Spencer Oliver in the locker room afterwards, telling Joshua he had outboxed Usyk?!?

It's plonkers like that who are causing huge issues for Joshua. Stop blowing smoke up his arse and tell him how it is!!

 

 

[The_budweiser]

58 minutes ago, TheBoxingMadMan said:

Spencer Oliver in the locker room afterwards, telling Joshua he had outboxed Usyk?!?

I missed that! Really? As bad as his coach telling him "You're winning every round".

Commentators were terrible too. Everytime AJ throw a punch they screamed "USKY IS HURT" when he clearly wasn't or they'd say "Great punch, great body shot by Joshua" when they clearly landed on Usyk's gloves.

[WelshDevilRob]

Not sure how I scored it. Had a fair few beers watching it. Missed the replays, will, hopefully, grab a download of it. Thought it was a very entertaining card.

[BoztheMadman]

2 hours ago, TheBoxingMadMan said:

Spencer Oliver in the locker room afterwards, telling Joshua he had outboxed Usyk?!?

It's plonkers like that who are causing huge issues for Joshua. Stop blowing smoke up his arse and tell him how it is!!

 

 

That's exactly why he started losing in the first place. Idiots around him telling him he was doing everything perfectly and didn't need to change a thing. The same guy who barely eeked past Parker-rather green Parker.

[Ledhed1]

Largely a basic boxing match until the last few rounds, precisely the type of fight AJ and his team stated they could not win. It was straight boxing for too may stretches. I didn't have either guy ahead by more than one round until Usyk took the 12th. AJ should have been able to build a lead early but the game plan was baffling. The feedback AJ was getting from Garcia? That's Garcia's M.O. Positive reinforcement even if it's unrealistic. Garcia's all about psychology and keeping his fighter's attitude up. Didn't seem a proper fit from the start.

But let's not trash AJ. Yea he never should've lost to Ruiz. But now he's lost twice to a great fighter. So did Frazier; so did Norton; so even did Wilder. No shame in that. He'll pick himself up and get back in the mix. He's still marketable in Britain and benefit from a relative fast track back to contention if he makes the proper adjustments to his team. I agree he's had too many yes-men around him. He needs to recognize that and take a good long look at himself. Some of his reactions are childish, yes, but I think it shows he cares and it means alot to him. With proper direction he can still achieve elite level wins.

[repsac]

I scored  it 116-112. Couldn't give AJ more than 4 rounds. Shocked by Feldman's scorecard. It's quite embarrassing, but on par for boxing. 

[Nipper]

The right man definitely got the decision, it should never have been a split decision win. I’ll give credit to AJ, I actually thought that he boxed quite well and made Usyk work very hard for the win. However, it was always going to be difficult to outbox such a clever boxer as Usyk. I would like to have seen AJ throw caution to the wind and let his hands go a bit earlier than the ninth round. As for the aftershow? I think AJ has had a difficult time since first losing to Ruiz jnr and then subsequently to Usyk. He has gone from this ultimate high to suddenly being criticised and having his ability questioned. Coupled with this, he knew it was always going to be difficult regaining his titles from Usyk and the frustration of wanting it so badly but falling short was hard to take. AJ was emotionally charged entering the ring and after the defeat, he almost preempted the criticism and let everything pour out.
I still think, as long as he has the desire, he is a big player on the world stage and there are big fights out there still for him. Personally, I would love to see him take on Wilder, which would still be a huge fight. 

[The_budweiser]

58 minutes ago, Nipper said:

The right man definitely got the decision, it should never have been a split decision win. I’ll give credit to AJ, I actually thought that he boxed quite well and made Usyk work very hard for the win. However, it was always going to be difficult to outbox such a clever boxer as Usyk. I would like to have seen AJ throw caution to the wind and let his hands go a bit earlier than the ninth round. As for the aftershow? I think AJ has had a difficult time since first losing to Ruiz jnr and then subsequently to Usyk. He has gone from this ultimate high to suddenly being criticised and having his ability questioned. Coupled with this, he knew it was always going to be difficult regaining his titles from Usyk and the frustration of wanting it so badly but falling short was hard to take. AJ was emotionally charged entering the ring and after the defeat, he almost preempted the criticism and let everything pour out.
I still think, as long as he has the desire, he is a big player on the world stage and there are big fights out there still for him. Personally, I would love to see him take on Wilder, which would still be a huge fight. 

Welcome to the forum @Nipper

I agree no way was it a split decision but it's not surprising in boxing. 

I'd also would have liked to have seen Joshua let his hands go earlier. But I think that would of played into Usyks hands with Joshua tiring faster which would result in Usyk landing more cleaner punches. I think Joshua's improved performace against Usyk was due to him pacing himself in the fight and not emptying his energy too fast.

[Cableaddict]

I didn't score it carefully,  but I thought that Usyk gave away the first three rounds,  trying to figure ouyt AJ's game plan & timing.

So going into round ten I thought it was "in the ballpark" of even.

 

Of course, Usyk totally dominated the last three, so it didn't matter.  Credit to AJ, though.  I don't think he's ever looked better. He certainly landed a decent amount of punches,  though with little damage.  And he threw-missed a ton, which usually allow the crooked judges to score in favor of the house fighter.

I was STUNNED when Usyk got the decision. Fast Eddie is slippin'.  

(Or else, he has something in the contract with AJ that says AJ gets paid a lot less if he loses a fight.)

[LondonRingRules]

--- Josh won or should've won the last round with more body shots that visibly hurt Usyk. 

Close fight as cards reflect, so I'm seldom upset if my guy don't win such a close fight. The judges may not possess the excellence of Josh or Usyk, but they made the effort.