Teddy Atlas wonders how Usyk can beat Joshua in 'corrupt sport'
- Joe Hewlett
- 21 September 2021
"If he does win and deserves to get his hand raised and called ‘the new heavyweight champion of the world’ - how’s it going to happen?"
Teddy Atlas has questioned how Oleksandr Usyk can win fair and square this weekend against Anthony Joshua.
The Ukrainian southpaw will take on Joshua for the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend.
Usyk - the WBO mandatory challenger - is undefeated from 18 bouts and enters his third fight at heavyweight having unified the 200lb division.
While there are question marks about whether Usyk can take a punch, Hall of Fame trainer Atlas is more concerned about the scorecards.
"How is he - a Ukrainian kid - going to get a fair shake? Around 70,000 in there, it's not going to be easy but if he does win and deserves to get his hand raised and called 'the new heavyweight champion of the world' - how's it going to happen?
"I mean really? You would have a better shot of going over there and becoming prime minister," Atlas said to Ken Rideout on his podcast.
"Again talking the truth. Our sport is a corrupt sport - yeah I said it - and we work and we try to make it not corrupt we do because what is not corrupt is what these warriors do inside here in this squared circle. That's noble, that's real, that's special that's not corrupt.
"They put themselves out there to dare to find out if they're good enough, can go to a dark place which not many can go to. A scary place and if they can light a torch in that place and find their way - wow that's what they do.
"And then they go and get robbed by some dope with a pencil in his hand outside the frigging ring who most of the time has never taken a punch in his life - are you kidding me? You expect me to sit here and not say something about it. You're wrong.
"That he's going to have to figure that out and if his management team makes their money then they're making plenty of money too and they're supposed to be on top of that to earn their money and make sure he doesn't get robbed if he wins.
"When everyone talks about the bigger guy - David and Goliath - the bigger guy but you know what, he's got to win by being the smaller guy by turning around and flipping the script instead of looking at all of the advantages of the bigger guy being Joshua.
"Look at the advantages of being the smaller guy: quicker, faster, more crafty, better technique maybe, better legs, faster hands, doing all those things. The smaller guy has the advantage and that's how he is going to win.
"He's got to flip the script and make the smaller guy the more dangerous guy. It's history for him there's the history behind him. Usyk was a great cruiserweight he was a gold medallist just like Joshua but I was there - taking nothing away from Joshua.
"I was there calling the fights in my last Olympics in 2012 in London and Joshua didn't beat the Italian I'm sorry. He got it but what did you think was going to happen?"
Holyfield is blue print
Atlas believes Usyk has to follow the same footsteps as legend Evander Holyfield - who also went up from cruiserweight as champion to rule in boxing's heaviest division.
"Taking nothing away from Joshua he's had a great career and is a hell of a fighter. I give him all of the credit for showing character and coming back after being knocked out by Ruiz and reinventing himself.
"But Usyk won a gold medal, beat everybody and he goes and becomes the unified cruiserweight champion you could argue he is the greatest cruiserweight champion ever if there isn't another guy named Evander Holyfield.
"Evander Holyfield is the greatest cruiserweight champion of all-time but Usyk gives him a run for his money. Holyfield was too small and wasn't suppose to beat Buster Douglas after he knocked out Mike Tyson - the legend, the monster, the boogeyman but he did.
"The greatest cruiserweight champion went out there and beat the big boys. He outsmarted them, outpunched them and left himself open for the uppercuts, the same uppercut which Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson.
"He's got to follow that history, it's been done before where the smaller man beats the bigger man. One of the fair things to say is the same thing which is going to happen for another belt with Wilder and Fury, is when you're fighter the bigger guy, puncher like Wilder you can't afford to make mistakes. Usyk has to fight the perfect fight," Atlas added.
