After the fight: Joshua vs. Usyk card a microcosm of boxing

Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk provided a classic heavyweight title fight, but the rest of the card represented boxing in a nutshell. 

Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk had boxing fans excited for a reason. Two gold medalists and professional champions provided a chess match in the ring. However, the Sept. 24 fight card as a whole represented all facets of the sport of boxing.

You can’t say en about how brilliant Usyk and Joshua were in the ring together. Joshua brought out the best in Usyk, and now Usyk’s name is considered for the top spot in pound-for-pound rankings.

Usyk’s footwork, hand speed, and boxing I.Q. overmatched the younger, larger, and now former champion Joshua. Joshua challenged Usyk in the middle rounds, but Usyk’s conditioning held up to his superhuman work rate. For a large man, he has cardio that’s off the scale.

Usyk also proved to have a stout chin, shown after the fight with two black eyes and a split brow. He also demonstrated his punching power by hurting Joshua in round 12. You got the feeling that if the fight went 15 rounds like in the old days, Joshua wouldn’t have been standing by the final bell.

Usyk vs. Joshua showed all that’s good in boxing. Two phenomenal athletes battled, and the best man won. After the fight, both were all class as they shook hands and greeted each other with respect. There was no drama. It was simply a fight with no excuses as it should be.

Looking further down on the Joshua vs. Usyk card, you’ll notice a few other examples that encompass different facets of boxing today.

Campbell Hatton vs. Sonni Martinez symbolized boxing’s corruption. Martinez was a no-name boxer, while Hatton drew public interest because of his name and famous father. That sounds mean on the surface, but it’s the truth.

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua more than lived up to the hype, but other bouts told the story of boxing

Hatton is only 20 years old and has a right to try his hand at boxing, but he shouldn’t receive gift decisions because he’s marketable due to his lineage. No judges were assigned to scoring duties. That responsibility fell on the shoulders of referee Marcus McDonnell. McDonnell scored the fight 58-57 for Hatton, which was ludicrous.

It’s not Hatton’s fault that the referee turned in an awful score, but it’s not surprising that a poor card supported the promotional favorite. It’s also the sort of thing that disenfranchises loyal boxing fans.

On the positive, the Usyk vs. Joshua card also had a feel-good moment. Undefeated boxer Chris Ousley took a leap of faith and challenged a more experienced fighter in Khasan Baysangurov. Other than Baysangurov, Ousley had only one other boxer on his résumé with a winning record.

Still, the 30-year-old Ousley challenged himself against a younger Baysangurov. He fought well in his first fight to go10 rounds and proved that he is ready to fight advanced-level middleweights.

Finally, Callum Smith vs. Lenin Castillo demonstrated the brutal nature of boxing. Smith scored a round 2 knockout, but few were celebrating as Castillo convulsed in the ring. It was a frightening sight that has often led to a devastating outcome in boxing, but Castillo is healthy and recovering by all reports.

Boxing is not your average sport. Boxers put their lives on the line in the hopes of achieving their dreams. Usyk earned his through hard work and masterful skills that are pieced together with a genius tactical mind. It was all that’s right in boxing.

The Hatton result showed what’s wrong with either biased or inept scoring, but Ousley countered that result with the story of another dreamer who’s trying to defy the odds. Joshua vs. Usyk had a little bit of everything that makes people love and loathe boxing.