Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk Prediction, Offers & Tips

Anthony Joshua's long-awaited battle with Tyson Fury continues to just be clickbait worthy and a miserable read for boxing fans, as the lineal heavyweight champion must clash with Deontay Wilder once more on October 9th, while Joshua now faces one of boxing's most feared names, Oleksandr Usyk.

The Brit enters the bout as the 4/11 favourite, which puts him at the lowest he has been heading into a title-defending bout since he was matched up against Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 - Joshua was 4/7 to beat Andy Ruiz in the rematch, where he reclaimed his belts.

If Joshua is to win the fight, you would expect it to be via TKO/KO (4/5), as Usyk is three inches smaller, significantly less powerful, not much of a 'toe-to-toe' fighter, and will also come into the fight weighing much less. The defending champion currently boasts 22 of his 24 wins in this manner, with only the Ruiz rematch and a bout with Joseph Parker going the distance.

Joshua is one of the most lethal finishers out there, as he proved in his last fight with Kubrat Pulev. He managed to floor the Bulgarian twice in the third before finishing him in style in the ninth round, but despite taking a further six rounds to do the business, the Englishman's victory was never in doubt.

What will benefit Joshua more than anything here is his superior athletic and physical capabilities. And, although the Ukrainian, matrix-esque brilliance of Uysk shines through in each of his unbeaten bouts, the champion can cancel this out with his superior reach, power, and size.

We expect Uysk will have success at times. Joshua has proven in many bouts down the years that when push comes to shove, he can stumble. A superior brain and fighting intelligence is the way to defeat the Englishman, as proven in his tough bouts with Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin, who both found success with specific punches (the one-two straight for Klitschko and the left hook for Povetkin)

With this in mind, Joshua's overall heavyweight nature should be too much for a man that has perfected his trade in the cruiserweight division since turning professional, with only Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora fighting him at heavyweight thus far.

Our Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk prediction and our main Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk tip is for the Brit to get the job done inside six rounds because the longer the fight goes on, the more Uysk may get into his groove.

Usyk, like other Ukrainian's out there, took a long time crafting and perfecting his matrix-esque skills in the amateur rankings, which although a shame for fans of the professional game, it seems to work like a treat for the man himself.

The 34-year-old is, as a result, not so much of a veteran in the professional ranks, but with national titles, world titles, European titles, and an Olympic gold medal to boast, Usyk is one of the most prestigious and legendary amateur boxers of this generation. In fact, with a stunning 335−15 record, barely anyone on the professional circuit can state they have more fighting experience than the great Ukrainian.

With this said, and off the back of Joshua's superior size and power likely being the difference for his route to victory, it's fair to say that Usyk must take this bout into the deeper waters and the latter rounds.

Joshua has proved at times that he can come into trouble when taking a beating. Klitschko almost had him out there back in 2017, Charles Takam had some success at times when Joshua's nose was bloodied, and Ruiz, of course, won every round leading up to his seventh-round TKO after being floored in the third.

So, if Usyk is to win, he'll have to call upon all 335 of his amateur bouts to find a way past the four-inch reach advantage and superior height, just like Ruiz did with his exceptionally fast flurries that floored the Brit back in 2019.

Our Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk prediction and our Joshua v Usyk tip for Usyk's route to a win is for him to get a victory via points, which is priced at 4/1.