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Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk
WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO Heavyweight World Championship
25 September 2021
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO Heavyweight World Championship challenger Oleksandr Usyk has been warned of the power of his opponent, Anthony Joshua, ahead of their clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday 25 September.
Joshua (24-1, 22 KO) comes into the bout on the back of a ninth-round knockout win over Kubrat Pulev in December of last year, while Usyk (18-0, 13 KO) was last in the ring in October 2020 and defeated Britain’s Derek Chisora via unanimous decision after 12 rounds.
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Part of Usyk’s preparations has seen him spar with Congolese fighter Martin Bakole (16-1), and the latter has now cast doubts over the Ukrainian’s ability to bother ‘AJ’, insisting that he lacks the punching power to take down the reigning champion.
“He’s a top guy, and he’s got good skills. He has a top record, and everyone knows he’s the best,” said Martin Bakole of Usyk. “But heavyweight is not like a cruiserweight. At heavyweight, one punch can change your stuff, but he’s good. I sparred him for two weeks, and I don’t know if it’s the way that he prepared for it, but he never hit me with a punch that hurt me.
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“Maybe he’s saving that for the fight, but cruiserweight is not the same as a heavyweight. If you see him, he looks small. He needs to put some weight on because at heavyweight; they have a nice punch.
“At cruiserweight, he has nice skill, but I don’t think he has the same power as AJ. AJ has more power than him. I sparred him, and I never see any big punch like when I sparred AJ. That’s the big difference.”
Tale of the tape
Anthony Joshua
Nickname: AJ
Nationality: British
Age: 31
Record: 24-1 (22 KO)
Height: 198cm
Reach: 208cm
Stance: Orthodox
- WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO Heavyweight World Champion
- 2012 Olympic Games, Gold Medal winner, Super-heavyweight
Oleksandr Usyk
Nickname: The Cat
Nationality: Ukrainian
Age: 34
Record: 18-0 (13 KO)
Height: 191cm
Reach: 198cm
Stance: Southpaw
- 2012 Olympic Games, Gold Medal winner, Heavyweight
- WBO mandatory challenger
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