Oleksandr Usyk shocking boxing fans as delivers brutal assessment of Joe Joyce ahead of Derek Chisora fight
Oleksandr Usyk delivers brutal assessment of Joe Joyce ahead of Derek Chisora fight.
Oleksandr Usyk has fought and beaten several of British boxing’s best fighters.
Last time out, Usyk overcame Tyson Fury to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
Usyk has fought a who’s who of great British boxersCredit: Getty
Meanwhile, he has also defeated Daniel Dubois, Derek Chisora, Tony Bellew and Anthony Joshua (twice).
The Ukrainian slickster recently sat down with Boxing King Media to assess the British opposition he has faced and grade them on separate categories.
Chisora was picked as the hardest puncher out of the lot while Bellew was deemed to have the best footwork and speed.
Fury was awarded the best defence and boxing IQ as well as earning the accolade of being the pound-for-pound king’s toughest fight.
When asked for his easiest fight, Usyk paused for a moment before naming Joyce.
Usyk fought Joyce in 2013 in a World Series of Boxing (WSB) bout.
The WSB was a semi-pro boxing competition that allowed amateur boxers to compete under a professional rule set while maintaining their amateur status.
Usyk competed in the 2012/2013 season prior to turning over.
At the time, Joyce was early in his amateur career and hadn’t medalled at a major international tournament yet.
Meanwhile, Usyk boasted a 335−15 amateur record and gold medals at the World Championships, European Championships and Olympic Games.
Usyk beat Joyce in the semi-pro WSB series over five rounds back in 2013Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Joyce and Chisora square off this weekendCredit: Getty
The gulf in experience showed when they shared the ring together as Usyk outclassed Joyce en route to a unanimous decision win.
In the years that followed, Joyce carved out an excellent amateur resume for himself, winning gold at the Commonwealth Games and silver at the Olympics in 2016.
He has since gone on to establish himself as a top 10 heavyweight in the paid ranks with notable wins over Joseph Parker and Dubois.
Back-to-back losses to Zhilei Zhang last year derailed his collision course towards world titles.
But he returned to winning ways in March with a last-gasp stoppage victory over Kash Ali.
He is now set to box Chisora on Saturday night in a must-win fight that will reveal exactly how much gas is left in the 38-year-old’s tank