Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk: Preview, Odds & Prediction

Anthony Joshua is back in action this weekend against the Great Oleksandr Usyk for the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO World Championships. The fight takes place on Saturday, 25th of September at the Wembley Stadium.  

Preview

Anthony Joshua has done enough to be considered a modern-day great and so has Usyk, only not in the heavyweight division. Joshua has got 4 out of the 5 World Championships at the Heavyweight division and Usyk had cleared out the whole Cruiserweight division before moving up to Heavyweight. 

Joshua’s last fight was against Kubrat Pulev, which was also a mandatory fight. Joshua took the victory with a knockout. Anthony Joshua looked good throughout the fight and managed to land a classic 1-2 to put Pulev on the floor. 

Usyk’s last bout was against the Heavyweight veteran, Dereck Chisora. Usyk did not look the most dominating but he did manage to take the Unanimous Decision victory. However, he kept getting caught with significant strikes against Chisora which didn’t look all that impressive defensively.

Odds

I believe it wouldn’t be hard to predict who the favorite in this match is. Of course, it is Anthony Joshua with a -275 favorite to win the fight. Oleksandr Usyk is the +225 underdog, a massive difference. However, people should not at all underestimate the Ukrainian giant. 

He might not have looked the most impressive in his first 2 fights at heavyweight but he got enough time to rectify his mistakes and the kind of fight Usyk is, we are sure he has worked on his mistakes. 

Joshua has looked good since the 2nd Ruiz fight and we expect him to come fully prepared as well, we doubt that he has overlooked Usyk. We should expect a fully ready Joshua and Usyk on Saturday night. 

Prediction

Some people have completely written off Oleksandr Usyk, and although he might not be the favorite but he sure is dangerous. His footwork and head movement, combined with his heavy combinations make him a complete boxer. 

Anthony Joshua is a heavy hitter but he can also rely on outboxing his opponents. Even though Usyk is a big threat to Joshua’s boxing record, we doubt that he will be able to go at it against the Englishman. We believe Anthony Joshua will knockout Oleksandr Usyk in the later rounds for the victory.