Anthony Joshua returns to the boxing ring against former cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles on September 25 inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. Ahead of what promises to be one of the biggest bouts of this year, let’s take a look at both the opponents and compare their size, height, reach, and weight to get some understanding about who has the edge going into the championship bout.
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Joshua is coming off an incredible stoppage win over Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev and will look to continue the same momentum in his pursuit to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. On the other side, Usyk moved to the heavyweight division after conquering the cruiserweight division as its undisputed champion. He has competed twice in the heavyweight division and is coming off an impressive unanimous decision win over boxing veteran Derek Chisora.
Tale of the tape: Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk
Anthony Joshua stands at 6ft 6in or 198 cm with a reach of 82in or 208cm. Meanwhile, Oleksandr Usyk stands at 6ft 3in or 191 cm tall with a reach of 78in or 198 cm. Joshua will have a huge 4-inch reach advantage and 3-inch height advantage against the former cruiserweight champion.
Anthony Joshua weighed in at 240.8 lbs for his title defense against Kubrat Pulev in his last bout. He was a lot lighter in his rematch against Andy Ruiz, coming in at less than 238 pounds for the bout. It will be interesting to see whether Anthony Joshua will put on some weight, or make the walk at his usual weight against Usyk.
Oleksandr Usyk is comparatively small to most of the heavyweight boxers in the division. So it’s needless to say that going against someone as big as Joshua will be a huge task. Usyk weighed in at 217lbs in his heavyweight fight against Derek Chisora in 2020. Whether or not he has put on some body mass ahead of the Anthony Joshua bout will be something to look out for ahead of the bout.
While the stats favor Anthony Joshua, Oleksandr Usyk is no amateur to boxing. He is a former Olympic gold medalist just like Anthony Joshua and remains undefeated in his professional boxing career. Who do you think gets his hand raised on September 25? Do let us know in the comments section.