Opinions and Observations: Usyk-Dubois 2

I have a theory about Oleksandr Usyk's heavyweight campaign: he's as good as he needs to be. Most of his fights have been competitive on the scorecards. Chisora ran him close. The Fury fights featured intense two-way combat. Even Anthony Joshua had stretches of good rounds in the middle parts of both fights. To my eyes, Usyk deserved to win all of those fights, but I never had a feeling of outright domination, or that he absolutely needed a stoppage to win. 

Usyk first fought Daniel Dubois almost two years ago. And with the exception of Dubois landing a crushing body punch that may or may not have been low, the fight was uneventful. Usyk eventually made Dubois take a knee in the ninth round to end the fight. Dubois didn't absorb a life-changing beating in that fight, but he couldn't handle Usyk's pressure and cerebral approach. Dubois spent so much of the fight staring at Usyk, waiting, unable to act. 

But Dubois came roaring back with stoppage wins over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, picking up a share of the heavyweight title in the process (Usyk had relinquished that particular belt). Entering Saturday's rematch with Usyk, a fight for undisputed status at heavyweight, Dubois had every reason to feel more confident in the ring. 

Usyk posing after victory
Photo courtesy of Queensberry Promotions

Almost immediately it was clear that the rematch would be far different than their first fight. Where Dubois was practically paralyzed by Usyk's mesmeric footwork in their first outing, on Saturday, he went hunting for him. He was going to lead with power shots. He wanted to flush Usyk out of the center of the ring and let his big hands do the talking. 

And while Saturday's fight only lasted five rounds, the reason that Usyk had to sit down more on his power shots is because Dubois forced him to. Dubois was landing hard right hands, Usyk needed to return the favor with left hand counters, notably at the end of the second round and in the last minute of the third. 

In the final sequences of the fight on Saturday, Dubois had Usyk close to the ropes and was charging forward behind right hands. Usyk then uncorked a menacing counter right hook to the top of Dubois' head for the first knockdown of the fight. Upon beating the count, Dubois wasn't interested in taking a step back to regroup. Within seconds, a wild exchange ensued with both guys throwing big shots. Usyk evaded a right hand and with Dubois out of position, he unfurled a vicious rear left hook. Fight over. 

Over two fights, Usyk has proven that he has mastered Dubois in the ring. However, he really needed to dig into his bag of trick to get there on Saturday. For instance, in many of Usyk's heavyweight fights, he rarely featured his right hook. Yet on Saturday, this punch was required. And it wasn't because he was just having fun in the ring; he had to neutralize a charging, confident Dubois. 

Usyk so often has won at heavyweight by hunting and pecking, a jab here, a touch left hand there. His punches weren't always thrown with spite or malice. But on Saturday, Usyk dispensed with pleasantries. He understood this wouldn't be a fight won by cute ring generalship, angles, and feints. No, here he needed thunder. And he produced it. 

I think that Usyk answered any final lingering questions about him as a heavyweight on Saturday. He has more than enough power to get the job done. And more specifically, he's not afraid of using that power, of going for it. Saturday's victory was not one of guile. He won a mano-a-mano battle with one of the biggest punchers in the heavyweight division. He had the better accuracy and the larger punch variety when it counted. The final punch was also a perfect encapsulation of Usyk's skill in the ring. He made Dubois miss by evasive maneuvers and then ended things with a rear hook. He didn't doubt if that was the right punch at the right time; he threw it with maximum ferocity. 

Usyk's journey through cruiserweight and heavyweight has been a thrilling ride of triumph over different styles. He's beaten huge punchers (Gassiev, Joshua, Dubois), technical boxers (Hunter, Briedis, Fury), and awkward guys with power (Glowacki, Huck). He's had fights where he's led wire-to-wire, where he was down and needed to come on strong in the second half, and where he needed to change the direction of the fight after ceding control. What remains is 24-0 with 15 knockouts, and more importantly, 13-0 in world championship fights. 

I've probably run out of superlatives regarding Usyk. I've written at length about his intestinal fortitude, his self-belief, his technical skills, his supreme ring IQ, and other factors. But it was nice to see him slug it out on Saturday, to remind everyone that he's much more than technical wizardry. Along with his superior set of skills, he can get nasty. And it was a great lesson to those who think bull rushing Usyk is the way to go. If he is threatened, his self-preservation will kick in, and that's not going to wind up well for the opponent. There's a reason why Fury and Joshua didn't want to stir this beast with frenetic action. They saw what could happen, even if they chose not to articulate it in interviews. They were more measured. They made it 12. Dubois ignored the warnings. He got splattered.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook  

Opinions and Observations: Joshua-Dubois

Daniel Dubois entered the ring on Saturday determined to put Anthony Joshua on the defensive. In a bold strategic shift from his past notable fights, Dubois immediately pressed the action. He didn't just dip his toe in the water; there was no feeling out process. He marched forward behind his jab and power punches.  

Dubois and his trainer Don Charles prepared a game plan that sought to exploit Joshua's potential weaknesses and minimize Dubois' own shortcomings. Joshua had often started fights cautiously; that could be taken advantage of. In addition, Dubois hadn't fared well when he had started with caution. Before aligning with Charles, Dubois had been dropped by Kevin Lerena in the first round, picked apart by Oleksandr Usyk early in their fight and struggled at mid-range with Joe Joyce's jab. Even in recent victories with Charles in the corner, he had been outhustled by Jarrell Miller in the early rounds and he had absorbed dozens of big right hands by Filip Hrgovic. 

Dubois (standing) knocking down Joshua
Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson (Matchroom)

Thus, Charles and Dubois selected a bold strategy on Saturday: they would go right at Anthony Joshua, despite AJ's considerable heavyweight power. They were determined for Dubois to make his own luck; there was no use waiting around for something bad to happen. And the gambit was immediately effective. By the end of the first round, Dubois had knocked down Joshua with a whipping right hand. Joshua was hurt badly and was never the same during the rest of the fight.  

Ultimately Dubois would stop Joshua in the fifth round, scoring four knockdowns in the fight, including a pulverizing left during a combination in the third round and a counter right hook in the fifth that ended the match.  

That Dubois won as a sizable underdog was shocking enough, but how he went about it – bludgeoning Joshua over five rounds, a comprehensive beating – was something more; it was startling and thrilling. Joshua had been beaten before, but no one had wiped the floor with him like this. Even the great Usyk couldn't get him on the canvas. Remember, in Joshua's prior knockout loss to Andy Ruiz, it was Joshua who had scored the first knockdown in the fight.  

And for whatever criticisms that one could levy on Joshua during the fight, it was Dubois who forced those shortcomings to manifest. If Dubois hadn't been determined to counter Joshua's jab with hard right hands, then Joshua may have gotten away with throwing a lazy jab early in the fight. If Dubois didn't insist on pushing the pace in the fight, then Joshua's ponderous movement may have been far less of a problem. 

Furthermore, by the end of the first, Joshua was already a diminished fighter. The hard right hand that had dropped him had caused serious damage. And his body started to give out by the third round after the right uppercut/left hand combination just before the knockdown.  

It's certainly possible that if Joshua was given time to establish his preferred work rate and distance that the fight could have worked out in his favor. But Dubois never allowed him to have any comfort in the fight. Even during Joshua's best moments in the fight, the hard right hands in the fifth round, it took only one more big shot for Dubois to end the match. That's how damaged Joshua was. He could not beat the count in the fifth; he had taken too much punishment.  

There are lots of other notable aspects about Dubois' performance: the crispness of his jab; his varied punch arsenal that included left hooks, right uppercuts, and straight and looping right hands; his ability to defend himself against Joshua's jab. But ultimately, what won him the fight for me was the boldness of his gameplan and his execution of it. Yes, he was much sharper defensively than in previous fights. Yes, his countering ability has improved tremendously under Charles (this was their fourth fight together). And all of that is fine and dandy. But it was the belief that was most important to me. This was a young fighter who had finally overcome his losses, who now had the confidence to perform at his highest level.  

Through Dubois' defeats and comeback fights, he had learned a lot about himself. He realized that he could take big punches. Against Miller and Hrgovic, he now grasped that he had the chin and the power to win firefights. And even more importantly, he now knew that he could reverse the tide in a fight. Even if he was losing or getting hit with big shots, that didn't mean the fight was forever lost.  

Whereas Dubois was unwilling to sell out for the win after hurting Usyk (low blow or not), against Joshua, Dubois would not be denied. This was his moment. He was going to step on the gas and not let the opportunity fall through his fingers. And even when Joshua had success in the fifth, Dubois was still thinking about offense, how to place that one final blow. He wasn't spooked by Joshua's big punches. Ultimately, he realized that they presented him with an opportunity, and he took it! 

Dubois after the victory
Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson (Matchroom)

The unlikely story of Dubois' rise in boxing is a reminder that fighters can make significant improvements after losses, even knockouts. Dubois made wholesale changes after his second defeat. He improved technically with his punching form and his defense. But most importantly, he had matured in the ring psychologically. He could now deal with duress. He wasn't afraid of a big shot. He had the confidence to overcome scary moments. He believed in his power and ability.  

Dubois ultimately emerged from those dark places as a better version of himself in the ring. But he had been willing to do the work. He had reflected on what had caused him to fall short and he let this evaluation process lead him to new paths in his career.  

The effect of these changes was evident on Saturday He would no longer be intimidated by who was across the ring from him. He would not allow his opponents too much respect. He would keep his poise. Finally...he belonged.

And in the see-saw of Anthony Joshua's career (and let's not dismiss the chance of another comeback from him), AJ was once again on Saturday at the bottom. It was one of those fights where it all went wrong for him. He never had a chance to establish a rhythm or work his way into the fight. His opponent had outthought and outfought him.  

Although Joshua had looked good in his recent fights with trainer Ben Davison, he had predictable patterns in his career when facing punchers. He didn't like to be pressed early in fights and he didn't want to be in firefights. He liked control. And he had not been ready to assert his control in round one against Dubois. He had expected Dubois to be more cautious, that they would both see their way into the fight. And his whole team was unprepared for what followed. 

I keep going back to the "making your own luck" concept. This was the key to the fight for me. By being assertive from the opening bell, Dubois never allowed Joshua to gain a foothold. But Dubois had laid the groundwork for his success years earlier. He assessed his problems objectively. He found solutions. As a result, he was able to ascend to a new level physically, technically, and emotionally in the ring. He had manifested these changes. Against Joshua, he was now ready for anyone in the heavyweight division. And he proved it.  

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook  

Notes from the Day of Reckoning

Anthony Joshua turned back the clock on Saturday and reminded the boxing community that he could still throw spiteful lead punches. Joshua was once a fighter who controlled action in the ring, could be first in exchanges, and fired off power shots with confidence. It was a pleasure to watch Joshua reconnect with THAT fighter on Saturday.  

Working with his fourth different head trainer in four fights, Joshua has taken significant steps forward under the watchful eyes of Ben Davison. Joshua pierced Otto Wallin with right-hand daggers throughout the fight.  By the end of the first round, he had connected with so many sharp rights that Wallin thought better about trying to exit exchanges to his left. By the end of the second round, Wallin, a mover by nature, was so bothered by Joshua's rights that he decided to stop moving and fight Joshua at mid-range, a huge strategic victory for AJ. 

Joshua (right) digging a right to the body
Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson

Joshua uncorked a vicious right hand-left hook combination in the fifth that essentially ended the fight. Wallin's nose was busted up. Ultimately, Wallin was outthought and outpunched, and his corner stopped the bout. For Joshua, it was a great to see him once again throwing hurtful punches with confidence. 

***

For as clever as Otto Wallin was supposed to be (he claimed to have mastered Usyk's blueprint in how to beat Joshua) he sure didn't understand the first thing about movement against a puncher. Why Wallin insisted on circling to his left, into range for Joshua's right hand, was beyond my comprehension. Usyk did the exact opposite, moving to Joshua's left side and making Joshua try to beat him with his left hand. It was a disaster start to the fight for Wallin.  

It's possible that Wallin resorted to some bad habits once in the lion's den, but he committed a cardinal sin. You cannot move toward Joshua's right hand. Period. And that, more than anything else, led to Wallin losing the fight. By the end of the first round, his nose was already swelling. And his strategic failure did something even worse: it provided Anthony Joshua with a world of confidence. 

Not all movement is the same. Wallin lacked the in-and-out movement of Usyk. One reason that Usyk is so tough to time is that he's so unpredictable on his feet. In comparison, Wallin ambled slowly from side to side without much trickery. If Wallin is to recover momentum in his career, he needs to go back to school and understand the important distinction between movement for movement's sake and movement with a purpose. He got figured out very quickly on Saturday.

***

Joseph Parker has been hit hard by almost every significant opponent in his career. It doesn't matter if it was Chisora, Joyce, Whyte, or Joshua, all fighters with vastly different styles. The unifying element was that Paker's defense betrayed him. But on Saturday, Parker went 12 rounds against the best heavyweight puncher of his era and barely got touched, a major development!

Parker (left) and Wilder trading hooks
Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson

Working with Andy Lee, Parker's defense was as good as I have ever seen it. Parker stayed low, understanding that Wilder's right hand was far less accurate when his opponent wasn't at eye level. In addition, he remained switched on all fight. There was no drifting or losses of concentration that have plagued his career on the big stage. 

On Saturday Parker was never in trouble, he fought with a clear plan, and he remained committed to his strategy. He won by a wide unanimous decision. It's great to see a fighter finally have the light bulb go on, for talent alone isn't enough at the top levels. It's the attention to detail that often separates the good from the great, and that's what Parker had been lacking.

***

Ring rust is certainly a thing, and it would have been understandable if Deontay Wilder needed a few rounds to regain his mojo; he had only fought one round in two years. But here's a truth about boxing: it's exceptionally hard to win a fight without throwing punches. 

Not only did Wilder refuse to let his hands go through most of the fight with Parker, but he rarely gave Parker anything to think about. Instead, Wilder was pacing around the ring in deliberate circles, staring at Parker, not looking like he wanted to even throw punches. Belatedly, Wilder let some big bombs go and he landed two or three of them, but nothing was set up. He seemed to be in good shape and he didn't have any stamina issues, but where was his malice?

Chris Mannix asked Wilder if the fire was still there after the fight and Wilder couldn't answer that question definitively. If Wilder is going to continue as a relevant fighter, he must regain his conviction in the ring. What good is a missile without someone willing to activate the launch code? 

***

Daniel Dubois entered Saturday's fight with two stoppage losses in recent fights where in both cases he decided that he couldn't continue. In the Joe Joyce fight his eye was torn to shreds. In the Usyk matchup, he was beaten up from pillar-to-post (despite landing a controversial shot that could have been ruled a knockdown with a different ref). Even though Dubois is only 26, Saturday was awfully close to his last-chance saloon. 

Dubois (right) trapping Miller on the ropes
Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson

Facing a determined (if overweight) Jarrell Miller, Dubois took some big shots early in the fight, but he didn't yield. In fact, as he got more comfortable in the ring, he increasingly unleashed his arsenal of power punches. Although he was outweighed by almost 100 lbs. (and that's not a typo), his punches were the ones doing far more damage. And Dubois also showed just enough lateral movement to create better angles to throw and reduce Miller's effectiveness. 

Dubois finished the fight with a pyrotechnic display of power punching, stopping Miller with less than ten seconds in the bout. It was the performance that he needed. Although that version of Miller wasn't a threat to win a heavyweight title, he was a legit opponent who kept coming and possessed enough power to ask questions. This was Dubois' most meaningful victory since beating Nathan Gorman in 2019. And with many of the top heavyweights soon to age out of the sport, Dubois still could make a legit name for himself. This was a very promising step forward for him. 

***

Jarrell Miller was a boxing "what if." And let's speak about him in the past tense because I don't see a way where he can get to the top of the division at this point in his career. At his best, he was a 290-lb. beast who threw 90 punches a round and had a relentless energy. There was no one else in the division like him. Famously failing a drug test before his title shot against Anthony Joshua, Miller has essentially been in the wilderness since 2018. 

At 35 and over 330 lbs., Miller is now an "opponent." He wasn't bad on Saturday. He had endeavor. He was determined to test Dubois and he certainly landed his fair share of big shots. However, by the fifth round he was already in arm punch mode. He spent the second half of the fight eating huge shots and standing upright because of pride. We may never know what Miller really was or what he could have been, due to the plethora of illegal substances that he was taking, but he had been a genuine curiosity and offered a dimension rarely seen among modern heavyweights. 

***

Agit Kabayel has had an awfully strange career, and he's only 31! After impressing in a 2017 victory over Derek Chisora, (and ignore those scorecards, he won that fight comfortably), Kabayel would sign with Top Rank. Yet the company never brought him to the U.S. to fight any of their key players in the division or develop him on their own. Yes, there were some fights that fell through, but he had faced extremely low-level opposition since Chisora, and it did make you wonder if there was something going on behind the scenes that hadn't been reported. Why hide a capable heavyweight boxer who had intelligence, movement and punching fluidity? 

I didn't know what to expect in terms of Kabayel's physical shape or state of mind as he entered his fight on Saturday against Arslanbek Makhmudov, but I believed that if he was anywhere close to his best that he would give Makhmudov a lot of problems. 

Kabayel (left) hammers Makhmudov with a left hook
Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson

Kabayel didn't disappoint; he turned in one of the best performances of the night, battering Makhmudov with body shots, uppercuts and quick combinations. He dropped Makhmudov three times and the fight was called off in the fourth round. In a night full of fighters making statements, Kabayel made one of the most important ones: He was ready for the big stage. Let's hope that whoever is behind him in terms of management and promotion now fully believes in him. Kabayel is a capable, crafty fighter with sneaky power. He's a welcome addition to the top reaches of the heavyweight division. 

***

Sometimes when watching a lower-level card on a random night, you discover a key nugget about a prospect that you can tuck away for safe keeping. One Friday night in Montreal in September 2022 on an Eye of the Tiger card, Arslanbek Makhmudov was taking his first real step up against Carlos Takam, who had been a solid heavyweight gatekeeper over the last decade. And if you didn't see the fight and just looked at the scores on boxrec, you'd notice that Makhmudov won by four and six points on the cards. Sounds routine, doesn't it? Well, it wasn't. Although Takam took some big shots (he was knocked down twice), he kept coming and when he started landing odd-angled power punches, Makhmudov went into full-on panic mode. He froze. Makhmudov's trainer, the excellent Marc Ramsay, cajoled Makhmudov in the corner to keep going, to stay focused and stick with the plan. Ramsay didn't like what he was seeing, and neither did I. Makhmudov won the fight in a very shaky performance.

On Saturday, once Makhmudov was in real trouble, he didn't have the opportunity to make it back to the corner for reinforcement from Ramsay. Makhmudov's answer was to wing desperation power shots. All of Makhmudov's punching power was useless because under duress, he lacked a clear head. He didn't know how to buy time or extend the fight. 

Makhmudov lacks very important fighter instincts. Because of his punching power, he never had enough repetitions in real fights with opponents who could throw back. Already 34, it doesn't seem like this is a comfort level that will suddenly arrive. You can never count out a guy with a big punch, but with Makhmudov's poor survival instincts and leaky defense, he isn't a guy you can count on either. 

***

In seven rounds Frank Sanchez painted a clear picture of why so few fighters and big money interests have been rushing to see him in the ring. Through a lot of the first six rounds, Sanchez didn't let his hands go. When he did, he connected, doing just enough to win rounds, but so much of his ring time was spent staring at Junior Fa or moving just out of range. However, in the seventh round, he let his punches flow, impressing with eye-catching combinations. In those brief glimpses, he flashed tremendous hand speed, punch variety and accuracy. Sanchez badly hurt Fa and the fight was stopped.  

Sanchez is the ultimate high risk-low reward guy. When he wants to, he can let his hands go and dominate opponents, but he's in no rush to do so and doesn't seem to care about marketplace considerations: he's going to do it his way. Fighters like Sanchez will have to earn their title shots through the sanctioning bodies. Absolutely nobody has ever called him out or has indicated an overwhelming desire to fight him. Sanchez will never be big box office, but he's a scary package in the ring. He makes few mistakes. He gives very little to his opponents. And with his power and speed, he can turn a fight in an instant. He's a threat against anyone in the division. 

***

Let's close by mentioning the one title shot on Saturday's card, which featured one-sided domination by Dmitry Bivol over Lyndon Arthur (Bivol won by 120-107 on all three cards). It was everything a Bivol fight usually is: Bivol won with his legs, punching volume, mastery of distance and fantastic defense. The fight also reinforced several truths about Bivol. Despite dominating Arthur from start to finish, he never really went for the stoppage until the championship rounds. He doesn't have an overly aggressive temperament. He also lacks one-punch power.   

Bivol fights in a way to neutralize opponents. His greatness is understood when matched against better fighters. When facing lesser opponents, he has no problem carrying guys or getting his work in. At 33, Bivol isn't going to suddenly become something else, and that's fine. There are more than enough fighters to carry the box office in boxing. Bivol's concern is only about winning in a way that gives his opponents very little to work with. Yes, he's a risk-averse fighter, but his offense can be wonderful to watch. He doesn't stink out fights to win. 

If Bivol can defeat the winner of next month's Beterbiev-Smith matchup to become undisputed, I doubt that he'll care if his bank account could've had another zero in it. He's there for the glory. The legacy. He definitely is a prizefighter, but for him the prize isn't stacks of currency; he wants everyone to know that he's the best. He's not going to talk about it, but he'll be happy to show it against whoever is against him, and even in his strange career, those who are supposed to be supporting him. Bivol has been inconvenient to the the big-money interests in boxing, but he's so good that Big Money can no longer ignore him. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.  

Chicken Tawk Boxing Prediction Show

I joined this week's Chicken Tawk Boxing Prediction Show where Lefty and I previewed Joshua-Franklin, Ramirez-Dogboe and much more. To listen to the show, click here.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

Opinions and Observations: Usyk-Joshua 2

Certain heavyweight fights etch themselves into our memory banks. These fights stay with us for years and in some cases generations. They become our shorthand for the history of the sport's glamour division. Saturday's heavyweight title rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua won't be a part of this storied list. It was three stars out of five. Although skills and competence were on display, very little from the fight would make either boxer's individual highlight reel. 

Ultimately, it was a tactical battle, one where two superpowers didn't want to go nuclear. They were happy to stay in conventional warfare. Neither was that interested in going for the jugular or seeing what that might look like...maybe another day against another opponent. 

The cagey battle in the Usyk (left) and Joshua rematch
Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson

The first eight rounds featured mostly cagey stuff. Usyk was picking and pawing with feints, angles, jabs and straight lefts. Joshua was coming forward with right hands and a couple of crafty counters. But there was little sustained action.

The ninth and tenth rounds were the memorable parts of the fight from my vantage point. In the former, Joshua attacked Usyk ferociously, mauled him, and launched a sustained attack that showed true menace. It's the approach that many wanted him to engage in from the opening bell (more on that in a bit). 

But as in the first fight, where Joshua had a lot of success in the eighth round only to be beat back in the subsequent frame, the same story applied here. On Saturday Usyk responded to duress in the ninth by exploding with his best power shots in the tenth. These were not punches to keep Joshua at bay; they were thrown to take back control of the fight. And by hurting Joshua at multiple points during the round he did just that. 

Essentially, that was the real last hurrah in the fight. Usyk won by split decision with scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 113-115. I had him winning by 115-113 and can't see a plausible case for Joshua getting the nod. 

Overall, I was underwhelmed. I thought that Usyk was more dynamic in the first fight, much livelier on his feet. The word that kept coming to mind when watching him on Saturday was "labored." He seemed like a much older man in the ring. I can only imagine how much the war in Ukraine and his subsequent involvement in defending his homeland has affected him. There was very little joy in his performance. The famed, maniacal Usyk smile was nowhere to be found. 

After the fight, he seemed grateful for it to be over, as if he needed all of his reserves to get through it. He won under trying circumstances and that fact further illustrates his supreme internal fortitude. He has won big fights all over the world, almost never on home soil. Few could accomplish what he has even with all of their big fights as home games. Yet, Saturday's fight to me illustrated limits for Usyk. He could only give so much at this moment. It was enough. It wasn't his truly best, but he got through it and persevered. 

Usyk after the victory in silent reflection
Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson

As for Joshua, he was better, but still not good enough. He had a new corner and successfully incorporated changes in the ring. Tactically, he featured more head movement and incorporated a wider variety of punches. He had a few nifty counter right uppercuts. His straight rights to the body kept Usyk honest. He also finished the fight in better shape. Although Usyk won at least two of the final three rounds, Joshua wasn't in the same danger of being knocked out that he was in their first match. Even after being cuffed around in the tenth round, he recovered well enough and was lucid in the championship rounds.

But Usyk happens to be a horrific style matchup for him. Usyk demonstrated that Joshua isn't adept enough at creating his own openings at the highest level; he's dependent on his opponent to have success and Usyk didn't give Joshua enough to work with. Joshua was never able to figure out on a consistent basis where Usyk was going to be, what he was going to do or when he was going to throw. Joshua is a thinking man's fighter rather than a brute banger, but he couldn't get a handle on Usyk's patterns or rhythms, which led to a lot of indecision and waiting.  

Those insisting that Joshua would have had success bull rushing Usyk from the opening bell were living in fantasy land. For one, Joshua just isn't that type of fighter. He likes to set punches up. He has never been a true pressure fighter and that style negates his considerable weapons from the outside. And also, Usyk if not faster than Joshua, is certainly quicker. He moves better. He's just not an easy fighter to contain for any sustained period. Usyk may have touched the ropes two of three times in Saturday's fight, not because Joshua wasn't trying to apply pressure, but because Usyk is an expert at maneuvering around the ring. 

I think the most telling aspect of Saturday's fight was that after Joshua had his one-round blitzkrieg offensive and then Usyk responded in kind, that both didn't go to the well again. Throughout the fight both seemed pleased with mid-tempo. Joshua doesn't have the tank to fight in a kamikaze style for sustained periods, and it was clear that even after reestablishing his advantage, Usyk didn't want to either. Both can now go home, see their families and fight another day. Ultimately, much of Saturday's fight was about risk mitigation and concluding this series with a degree of dignity and grace.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.