Just got done watching it, great fight. A few scattered thoughts:
-The very second the first round ended I knew Joshua was going to have an extremely tough time winning this fight. Usyk was faster, more skilled, and had better footwork throughout the fight, which is a terrible combination for a guy like Joshua to overcome. He never went to Usyk's body like he should've, which could have really paid off in the middle rounds once Usyk was recovering from his initial blitz and possibly prevented that round 10-12 second wind that completely shut the door on the fight. Honestly, it felt like watching a strong light heavyweight dance round a heavyweight in there; Joshua may as well have been fighting in slow motion compared to Usyk.
-Even when Joshua started coming back in the middle rounds and the pace slowed down, not once did I think Usyk was in real danger, nor did I believe HE thought he was in any danger. There were clear moments throughout where Joshua seemed to be questioning what was happening in the ring and was unsure as to how he should handle Usyk even when he was on top. In contrast, I clearly remember RJJ talking about how tired Usyk looked in the 9th and I just thought, "that might be true, but he also seems to be biding his time, as if he's waiting for his moment more so than being unable to seize it." It was astonishing how little confidence I had in Joshua winning even after I gave him 4 rounds in the 5-9 stretch. It never really felt like he totally seized control of the fight at any point.
-Why was Usyk fighting like the guy who had something to lose in the final 3 rounds, despite being at worst probably down a round at that point? Joshua kind of treated them like any other rounds while Usyk seemed as if he was told he needed to take the fight from Joshua at that point. Just a real lack of urgency that almost makes me want to go back and watch the first Ruiz fight to see if the same thing happened there. It felt as if Usyk was almost saving energy for these rounds while Joshua just...fought his fight, I guess. And the final round...sheesh. Usyk's probably up 3 rounds and he's damn near dancing around Joshua looking for the knockout (and probably would have gotten it if he had 30 more seconds) when Joshua's the one that needs the KO. I'm not sure Joshua ever really got over those first 4 rounds; I think Usyk beat him mentally in those final three rounds as much as physically once he got that second wind.
And the thing is, I don't even think Joshua really fought a terrible fight or anything. He just wasn't going to beat a guy like Usyk with his gameplan. Maybe he has a better chance if he goes to the body more and tries to wear on him with his size, but I'm not sure that's in Joshua's wheelhouse. I can't see Joshua beating Usyk in a rematch, honestly. Too skilled, too fast, too smart, too determined. Maybe Joshua pre-Ruiz KO could do it, but not this guy.
Excellent fight, though. Really loved what both fighters brought to the table here.
