Anthony Joshua went into his fight against Oleksandr Usyk as a slight favorite. Of course, everyone was counting on him to win, especially with Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder duking it out just a few weeks later. Everyone wants to see the unification of the Heavyweight division, and a fight between Fury and Joshua was at the top of everyone's mind. Unfortunately, that won't happen for a while as Usyk ended up winning the match by decision.
Now, Joshua will likely have to fight Usyk again to get his belts back, and only then will he get a shot to fight Fury. While speaking to Sky Sports recently, Joshua noted that his goal is still to be the undisputed champion. As for his fight against Usyk, he felt like he was getting into his own head a bit as he was well-aware of the criticisms that other fighters were leveling against him.
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“Usyk came up from cruiserweight, he is a great fighter, a 12-round fighter, and I wanted to box with him for 12 rounds,” Joshua explained. “There was always this stigma that I can’t box, that I was this ‘big stiff bodybuilder’. So I said ‘cool, let me practise my boxing’. I tried practising my boxing with Usyk. He won nine rounds, I won three. Next fight, I win four more rounds – I win. So, let me simplify that matter, and I’ll then get on the road to being undisputed champion.”
It remains to be seen whether or not Joshua will be able to get back on track, although he does have a history of winning his rematches. Either way, fans just want to see a unification bout in the Heavyweight division, and hopefully, this is the year it finally happens.
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[Via]