It is a shame that the fight is taking place in Saudi Arabia, but Boxers need to maximise their worth when risking it all and this is a sport that has a history of going to places that are perhaps not the best from a moral or human rights stand point. I don't mind them doing it, because I understand the money that is being given to the promotions and fighters for coming over, but I will admit that I do get a touch irritated when it is framed as anything more than a financial decision.
'We will help bring about change' is a line you will hear often during this fight week, but it's embarrassing for the people speaking to really believe what they say. Again, I get why they say it, but personally I would have more respect for someone to simply say 'they paid the most, mine is a short career, and ultimately that is why we made the decision to host the fight here'.
Ramla Ali has been trotted out as proof women's rights are improving in the country... Someone should have asked her what she thinks of Salma al-Shehab who has just been jailed for thirty-four years for her Twitter activity highlighting how far those rights have yet to go in her home country.
So personally I think cut the crap and just get on with the job- don't try and justify the fight being hosted there on some moral crusade point, admit it was a big financial package and get on with it.
A couple of weeks ago my Boxing Picks returned after a six week break and Vergil Ortiz Jr gave us a winner from the sole selection on the day. I was very close to picking the Teofimo Lopez return last weekend, but ultimately decided the cards on August 20th are more appealing overall and hopefully it will see a build on the numbers already earned through the first seven months of the year.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II
Issues outside of the ring meant Oleksandr Usyk's rematch with Anthony Joshua had to be delayed as the Ukrainian returned to his homeland to defend it from the invasion launched by Russia in February.
He has since been granted permission to leave the country and to hoist the Ukrainian flag on the world stage by defending the belts won against Anthony Joshua last September in an upset.
Eleven months have passed since that first bout and it will have been a soul-searching time for Anthony Joshua. He has now lost half of his last four fights and Anthony Joshua decided he needed to make changes in his team to try and get the better of this rematch.
Rob McCracken is out and Robert Garcia has been hired as Anthony Joshua looks to find the answers to a conundrum posed by Oleksandr Usyk. Of course it is possible to beat any fighter with the right approach, but Joshua is going to be pressed as he was eleven months ago and I do think it is a huge challenge for the British fighter.
Unlike Andy Ruiz Jr, who essentially won the lottery with his win over Anthony Joshua in June 2019 as a short notice replacement, Oleksandr Usyk is committed to his craft and has huge ambitions beyond this rematch. He wants to be the first Heavyweight to hold all four World Titles as he did as a Cruiserweight, and I don't think this is someone who is going to overindulge on one success as Ruiz Jr did when completely out of shape and out-pointed in the rematch with Anthony Joshua in December 2019.
Tactically, Anthony Joshua has been criticised for trying to box a boxer, but I do think he was a little worried by the skills and quickness of Oleksandr Usyk. He now knows what to expect, which should mean Joshua is a little less gun-shy, but I am not sure it is the best approach for him to try and do everything a little better than he managed last September.
Instead I think Anthony Joshua has to take risks- we have seen Usyk hurt at Cruiserweight before- and that means trying to push the tempo on him early and often. Conditioning may be a concern for Joshua, but that won't matter if he forces a stoppage early, and I don't think Anthony Joshua is capable of outboxing Oleksandr Usyk over the full Twelve Rounds.
He could try the Teofimo Lopez approach who put it on the smaller Vasyl Lomachenko and built a big enough lead on the cards to withstand the late push, but I am not sure Anthony Joshua has the gas tank to try that.
Back in September, Oleksandr Usyk came close to a late Stoppage and my feeling is that he is highly motivated and inspired by what is going on in his home country. He may have to weather more of a storm than he faced in the first fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but I think Oleksandr Usyk can do that and this time he may find a bit more of a reaction from his own punches as Joshua potentially tires.
While most of the focus in the United Kingdom has been on the British fighter and how he can change tactically, I think Oleksandr Usyk will have a similar approach to last time and when he fought Tony Bellew. Keep things contained early, then begin to build mental and physical pressure on his opponent and start dropping heavier shots.
Unlike last year, this time Oleksandr Usyk will know full well he can hurt Anthony Joshua and I think that means looking for the bigger shots earlier than the Twelfth Round when he almost got the referee to step in. Starting a bit earlier may just see Usyk get on top and find a way to get this one done without the judges and I think the reigning World Champion will find a Stoppage at somewhere around the Tenth or Eleventh Round.
Unsurprisingly, a pretty decent undercard has been put together for this big summer event.
Sky Sports purchased the United Kingdom rights to the fight and I think they would have had some influence in getting Ben Whittaker out on the card in his second fight since turning pro. Of course he is also signed with Anthony Joshua's management team so this is a solid spot in which to keep his name very much in the public eye with big things expected of him.
He is facing an unbeaten opponent in Petar Nosic who was last out at the Super Middleweight limit rather than the Light-Heavyweight and Nosic will know all about Ben Whittaker's power having been stopped by him in the amateur ranks. The pro game is different, but I have no doubt that Whittaker has been put in this spot to impress and I think he gets the job done in the first couple of Rounds in a scheduled Six Rounder.
Badou Jack is also in action and this is going to be his third fight in a row in the Middle East. While he is taking on an unbeaten American, bringing Richard Rivera back up in weight coupled with the massive experience edge in favour of Jack should mean the former World Champion gets this one done inside the distance.
I am also expecting Callum Smith to have too much quality for Mathieu Bauderlique, although the French southpaw should be given respect with a sole defeat on his resume and with a win over Igor Mikhalkin in his last fight to earn the European Light Heavyweight Belt.
We have surprisingly not seen Smith back in the ring since a huge Light Heavyweight debut on the undercard of the first Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua bout last September in North London. Perhaps a big fight could not be secured, but this represents a really good chance for Callum Smith to put on a big display and show the rest of the Division he is ready to compete for World Titles in 2023.
He has plenty of power and I have a feeling Callum Smith is going to be very suited to the weight and can produce another devastating win.
And then we come to the main undercard bout which features Filip Hrgovic and Zhilei Zhang in what is an IBF eliminator and will make the winner mandatory for a crack at the winner of the main event.
They were supposed to fight earlier this year, but Hrgovic had to pull out as he sadly dealt with the passing of his father. He is motivated to impress in Saudi Arabia and I do think this is a genuine potential World Champion in the making.
Of course Zhilei Zhang has to be respected for being unbeaten, but he was almost undone by Jerry Forrest and I simply believe he will be found out at this level.
The 39 year old could be potentially dangerous in the early Rounds, but I expect Filip Hrgovic to display the better conditioning and eventually begin to unload some big shots that has the Chinese Heavyweight worn down and stopped.
My feeling is that will really begin to tell in the mid-Rounds and that is where the Croatian can cement a big win.
Emanuel Navarrete vs Eduardo Baez
Four years ago Emanuel Navarrete announced himself with an upset of Isaac Dogboe and another comprehensive display in the rematch had people taking notice.
He has since moved up to Featherweight and won a vacant World Title in this Division too, but the feeling is that there are limitations in his boxing which means his handlers are making sure he is well matched until a truly big fight develops.
That could be a Unification against Rey Vargas, but first Navarrete has to make sure he is not overlooking Eduardo Baez.
The Mexican will come to fight, but he has not really got enough to suggest he can earn the upset. One of the previous losses suffered by Eduardo Baez has come against big punching Mauricio Lara who managed to deck him twice, although the cards for needed in a scheduled Six Rounder that day.
I don't think Emanuel Navarrete hits harder than Lara, who is a huge puncher at the weight, but I do think he is someone who can systematically break down an opponent and I think we will see that here. Eduardo Baez has only won seven of his twenty-three fights inside the distance so I am not sure he will have enough pop to deter the Champion from coming forward and ultimately I can see a late stoppage as the accumulation breaks down Baez.
MY PICKS: Oleksandr Usyk to Win Between 7-12 @ 4.33 William Hill (2 Units)
Ben Whittaker to Win Between 1-2 @ 1.91 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Badou Jack by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 1.66 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Callum Smith to Win Between 1-6 @ 3.60 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Filip Hrgovic to Win Between 4-6 @ 3.20 Coral (2 Units)
Emanuel Navarrete to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.25 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Boxing 2022: 27-42, + 18.47 Units (123 Units Staked, + 15.02% Yield)
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