Jeddah, Saudi Arabia will play host to the biggest boxing match in 2022 as Anthony Joshua squares up against Oleksandr Usyk. The fight, which is their second meeting, has been billed as the ‘Rage on the Red Sea’ at the King Abdullah Sports City indoor arena on Saturday.
Read on for the fight preview, sponsored by BetKing.
Fight background
Nigerian born British boxer; Anthony Joshua was outclassed (unanimous decision) by Ukrainian rival Usyk in their first fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September. In the process, Joshua lost the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles to Usyk.
The defeat (just the second of Joshua’s career) left the prospect of an all-British undisputed showdown with Tyson Fury in tatters and the stunning performance from Oleksandr Usyk made him only the third boxer, after Evander Holyfield and David Haye, to win world titles at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
This weekend, the English fighter seeks revenge and redemption against Oleksandr Usyk while the Ukrainian is targeting a second straight win that would put an end to Joshua’s lofty dreams.
Can Anthony Joshua bounce back?
The answer is a resounding YES. While Oleksandr Usyk took a sabbatical from boxing to join the Ukrainian armed forces, Joshua split from his long-time coach Rob McCracken and got himself a new trainer, Robert Garcia. The Mexican was also a fighter himself and won the IBF super-featherweight world title in 1998.
Garcia has guided 14 different men to world titles throughout his legendary career as a trainer. Fighters he has trained include former four-division champ and brother Mikey Garcia, Marcos Maidana, Jose Ramirez, Bam Rodriguez, Abner Mares, Nonito Donaire, Brandon Rios and Antonio Margarito.
In the first fight against Usyk, Joshua struggled to keep up with the wily Ukranian as his opponent’s superior shiftiness, stamina and game management had the Brit floundering by the tenth round.
Hiring Garcia will help Joshua improve in those areas and also help him become a much better offensive and aggressive fighter.
Joshua v Usyk Betting Tips
Of Anthony Joshua’s 26 fights, he won 22 of them by Knock-out, 2 by decision and lost 2. Usyk, on the other hand, has KOed his opponent 13 times out of 19 total fights. The Ukranian is also still undefeated.
In the first fight, Usyk landed 149 punches, the most ever by an opponent of Joshua’s. He also connected on 29 punches in the final round, the most punches ever landed on Joshua by an opponent in a round, ever.
The changes Joshua has made will increase his chances of defeating Usyk, but he will still need to be wary of the Ukranian. Usyk is not a fighter that settles, and he will also have trained to counter any new moves Joshua has added to his armory
BetKing Predictions
Tip 1: If you believe that the fight will go the distance just like the first fight, BetKing has got you covered with ‘fight to go the distance’ @ 2.10
Tip 2: Joshua by Round 5. You can bet on BetKing’s ‘Usyk to be knocked down in rounds 1-6′ @ 4.00
Tip 3: If you believe Joshua’s new trainer will increase his volume punching substantially, you can bet on Joshua to land the most punches @ 5.30
Head over to BetKing and bet on the comprehensive Joshua vs Usyk markets they have available for you today!
