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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Harry Davies

Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk predictions for heavyweight showdown

Anthony Joshua defends his heavyweight titles against Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night and some of the biggest names in boxing have predicted how the fight will go.

Joshua will look to hand the former unified cruiserweight champion Usyk his first professional loss when they meet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Usyk faces a step up in competition after stopping Chazz Witherspoon and outpointing Derek Chisora in his only heavyweight fights so far.

Meanwhile, 'AJ' fights for the first time since knocking out Kubrat Pulev last December.

And here's what some of the best fighters had to say about this weekend's fight...

Joshua and Usyk at their presser on Thursday (PA)

Tyson Fury

The WBC heavyweight champion Fury thinks Usyk is not as good as people make him out to be and backs Joshua to knock him out.

He told Seconds Out : "I think he walks straight through Usyk.

"People are trying to build it up as a scary fight but [Usyk] didn't have the power to halt cruiserweights like Mairis Briedis or whoever else he fought.'

'Do I want him to win? Definitely. Because me beating up Usyk doesn't make as much sense or as much money as me beating up Joshua in the big fights everyone wants to see.

Dillian Whyte

The British heavyweight - who fights Otto Wallin in London on October 30 - shares the same view as Joshua and thinks he will stop Usyk early.

He told BBC 5 Live : "Joshua will stop him in the first five, six, or seven rounds.

"I think he can get the job done early. Usyk is a good southpaw, but he's an aggressive southpaw as well.

"He likes to press the fight, but Joshua has height and reach, and power. If Joshua wants to set the pace, he can get an early knockout."

Who wins this Saturday night, Joshua or Usyk? Let us know in the comments section below

David Haye

The former cruiserweight king Hate returned to the ring earlier this month, outpointing his close friend Joe Fournier in a lacklustre fight.

Haye thinks that Joshua will get past Usyk if he doesn't try and outsmart the Ukrainian.

He told iFL TV “If Anthony Joshua decides to have a tit-for-tat boxing match – just jabbing and trying to score points – then he’d have some trouble, but he’s not stupid enough to do that.

“His physical athletic advantage, his advantage of being able to receive punches from big heavyweights.

“He’s just better all-round and it’s just gonna be pretty devastating.”

Chris Eubank Jr

Eubank Jr recently told Mirror Fighting that he thinks Joshua will be able to keep up with the craftiness of Usyk.

He said: “Usyk is extremely smart and can certainly box, he has shown that at cruiserweight but I just don’t think he has the size to beat someone like Anthony.

“And Anthony has shown that he is smart too, he demonstrated that in the rematch with Ruiz where he really boxed well.

“So personally I would fancy Anthony to win that fight.”

Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk odds

Joshua - 4/11
Draw - 20/1
Usyk - 11/5

Get the best big fight odds with Grosvenor Sport

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