20th August 2022. Anthony Joshua’s revenge mission. ‘AJ’ looking to gain retribution for his only unavenged professional defeat. The London 2012 gold medalist attempting to reclaim the heavyweight championship of the world. If you were to listen to the hype surrounding the Watford heavyweight’s upcoming bout, you’d be forgiven for thinking he’ll be standing in the ring alone at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. You certainly would not get the impression he was fighting perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet and the reigning heavyweight ruler. After all, the A-side of this blockbuster pay-per-view clash is not Anthony Joshua. It is Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk won that honour putting on one of the finest boxing displays of 2021. The former undisputed cruiserweight king expertly outboxed Joshua at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September, relieving the Brit of his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles. Usyk was 19 pounds lighter and three inches shorter than his foe, but boxed superbly to nullify these physical advantages. It was a mesmerising performance that proved that a good big man is no match for a great smaller man.
READ MORE:
While this was correctly labelled an upset given the pedigree of ‘AJ’, it was not a James ‘Buster’ Douglas-level jaw-dropper. Usyk had comfortably shown himself to be the best cruiserweight of his era. The Ukrainian star became the first four-belt undisputed 200 pound champion in history, beating top names like Murat Gassiev, Marco Huck, Mairis Briedis and Tony Bellew along the way. His heavyweight campaign had seen him go 2-0 with wins over Derek Chisora and Chazz Witherspoon. Usyk was an underdog alright, but an 18-0 world champion too.
Lifting the heavyweight title meant Usyk became just the second fighter in history to hold unified championships at cruiserweight and heavyweight, after Evander Holyfield. At the age of 35, he has already put together a Hall of Fame-worthy legacy.
That is not even taking into account what he has done outside the ring. When Russia declared war on his home country of Ukraine, Usyk was quick to respond, publicly asking Russian president Vladimir Putin to suspend the attack. When Putin proceeded, Usyk signed up for the Ukrainian territorial defence force. His choice to fight for his country pushed back the ‘AJ’ rematch, but Usyk was clear on his priorities. Speaking to CNN, the champion said “My country and my honour are more important to me than a championship belt.”
Now Usyk will defend three such belts in a bout where he is being unfairly treated as an afterthought. One of the most entertaining and fun-loving figures in boxing outside the ring, and one of the most gifted within it, Usyk deserves more. The Joshua comeback narrative is a compelling one, and it deserves traction. But it does both ‘AJ’ and his journey a disservice to treat Usyk as simply an ornament to share the ring with in Joshua’s Rocky story.
This fight is intriguing precisely because it is these two fighters having it. For the longest time, people have craved a fight between Joshua and semi-retired WBC, lineal and The Ring champion Tyson Fury. It’s an attractive bout to be sure, an all-British affair for the biggest prize in professional sport. But so is this. Usyk is not a placeholder or a second prize. He is a two-weight world champion, one of the best fighters on the planet and a genuinely nice person outside of the unforgiving squared circle.
So when you tune in to watch this battle later this month, remember that you are not tuning in to The Anthony Joshua Show. The elite British puncher is part of the pull, of course. But he is in there with his greatest foil. Perhaps the best fighter he has ever fought. After all, this bout is Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua, and their names are in that order for a reason.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change