Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk predictions and boxing betting tips: Usyk upset

Free boxing tips, best bets and analysis for the Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Box Office, approx 10.30pm Saturday

Best bets

Oleksandr Usyk
3pts 9-4 general
Oleksandr Usyk to win by stoppage
0.5pts 15-2 Betfair, Power

Tale of the tape

Name Anthony Joshua Oleksandr Usyk

NationalityBritish Ukrainian

Age31 34

Record24-1-018-0-0

Knockouts22 13

Height6ft 6in6ft 3in

Reach 82in 78in

Stance Orthodox Southpaw

Belts WBA, WBO, IBF

Big-fight preview

Anthony Joshua's WBA, WBO and IBF title defence against Oleksandr Usyk has to be one of the most intriguing heavyweight fights in a long time.

It's being billed as Joshua's power and physicality, against the skill and movement of Usyk, but is it really that simple?

Of course, Joshua is the bigger man and he is the established heavyweight champion, but size isn't everything in boxing.

AJ will know that himself, as he had a four-inch height and six-inch reach advantage when losing to Andy Ruiz back in 2019.

Joshua went on to gain his revenge on Ruiz, who was in awful shape, in the rematch and he then stopped a 40-year-old Kubrat Pulev in his most recent outing.

AJ also has wins over Alexander Povetkin and Joseph Parker and he got off the canvas to beat ageing champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2017.

The Watford banger is a worthy world champion, he does a lot of things very well and as with most heavyweights his punches carry power. However, let's not pretend that Joshua is walking around with dynamite in his gloves and blasts anyone put in front of him. It seems to have been forgotten in the build-up to this contest that both Ruiz and Parker took AJ to 12 rounds.

Of course, if Joshua lands frequent punches on Usyk, he has the power to hurt the Ukrainian and he is an excellent finisher once he senses the opportunity of a stoppage. However, Deontay Wilder is the biggest hitter in the division and his second fight with Tyson Fury showed that power counts for nothing if you don't have an opportunity to land punches.

AJ doesn't boast the boxing skills and slick movement of his supremely gifted opponent. His physical advantages could help if he is able to walk through the smaller man and land his shots, but that seems to have been overplayed by the fight prices.

Usyk is the mandatory challenger to Joshua's WBO belt and that put AJ in a tough spot after his proposed fight against Fury fell through.

The Ukrainian is the former undisputed crusierweight king and he won his first world title after just ten pro fights. The 34-year-old unified the 200lb division in only his 15th bout and he has experience at this weight after beating Dereck Chisora last November.

Usyk showed that he could take a punch in his 2018 cruiser dust-up with Mairis Briedis and again when he went in with Del Boy.

The Cat is the best boxer that Joshua will have faced, this is the toughest fight of AJ's professional career and yet Usyk is 9-4 to win the bout.

It will be interesting to see what tactics the former cruiserweight champ adopts and the idea that he will look to stay out of range and engage in short bursts may not be the way this fight develops. Usyk's best opportunity could be to take the play away from Joshua, with sustained attacks and a high punch output - and let's remember AJ's chin is hardly made of granite.

Usyk has already proved he is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and at 9-4 he has to be supported.

If the fight goes the Ukrainian's way it may not be as likely to be by decision as the prices suggest. The cat has the skills to land on Joshua and AJ was knocked down by Ruiz in their first fight and Klitschko.

One punch can change a fight and in no division is that more prevalent than amongst the heavyweights. However, being able to overwhelm an opponent and putting him in a position where he can't pick where the next shot is coming from is an equally dangerous weapon and Joshua could pay the penalty at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It's 15-2 that Usyk wins the heavyweight titles via stoppage and at that price it's worth backing the Cat to get the cream.

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