Joshua v Usyk Odds: Betting preview and the latest prices ahead of the heavyweight clash

Anthony Joshua looks to take on one of his toughest opponents to date in former cruiserweight king Oleksander Usyk this weekend. The Ukrainian was the undisputed cruiserweight champion from 2018 until he vacated his titles in 2019, being the first cruiserweight in history to hold all four major world championships at once.

AJ comes in as the hot 4/11 favourite for the bout with Usyk coming in as a 9/4 underdog.

The Brit will be at his natural weight in the heavyweight division whereas his opponent will be moving up from cruiserweight to heavyweight. Pound for pound many might argue that Usyk is the more complete boxer as he is yet to face defeat in his professional career whereas Joshua suffered a shock loss to Andy Ruiz back in 2019.

We’re going to take a look at where the value might be in the betting markets for the fight and if another underdog can cause a shock against Anthony Joshua.

Usyk to land more punches

Anthony Joshua and Oleksander Usyk are two completely different fighters which is what makes this fight so interesting. The underdog may have 13 KOs to his name in his 18 fights but they've typically come later on after he has worn down his opponent throughout the whole fight. Joshua boasts an 88% finish rate in his professional career with most of them coming in the first three rounds. He’s seen as one of the hardest hitters in the sport at the moment and people are questioning whether or not his opponent will be able to take the shots at a heavyweight level or even have a shot powerful enough to stun any top heavyweight. 

Despite how this fight will go I think Usyk will always be the more busy fighter out of the two especially considering his reputation as a volume puncher. In AJ’s fight against Joseph Parker, he landed 139 total punches with Parker landing 101. I consider Usyk to be at a completely different level to the New Zealand-born fighter and if the punching stats are that close between AJ and Parker I can see Usyk getting the better of him in terms of the punching stats. After all, it’s only going to take one punch from the champion to get the win whereas I think the former cruiserweight is going to have to land a lot of punches to get Joshua out of there. Paddy Power are currently offering 5/4 for Usyk to land more punches than Joshua which I think could be some decent value if you consider the style matchup. 

How Joshua will win?

As we mentioned before, Joshua is a heavy favourite for this fight despite the one defeat on his record. He only has two decision wins on that record, though, the first one being against Joseph Parker where he said himself that he adopted a “Usyk style, hit and don’t get hit” to get the win. Hearing this I doubt he’s going to try a similar style against the Ukrainian, it doesn’t seem a good plan to try and beat him at his own game.

I think the heavyweight champ will use his size and power to his advantage and get a stoppage in the earlier rounds. AJ is one of the hardest hitters the sport has ever seen and I think early days, he’s going to try and test that chin of the former cruiserweight to see if he can truly take the punches. 77% of Joshua’s fights have ended in the first three rounds and I think that is where he’s going to make his money in the bout, there’s no point in him trying to outbox Usyk as that will fall right into his gameplan, he’s going to want to try and land big power shots where he can to let the challenger know that he’s in a heavyweight fight now as opposed to a cruiserweight battle.

The bookmakers currently have it at 13/2 for Anthony Joshua to win the rounds 1-4 which could be a huge price given the punching power difference between the two.

How Usyk could win

He might be the underdog with the bookies but many people fancy him to get the upset victory. It’s going to be interesting to say the least but if he wants the win he’s going to have to dig deep. Joshua is the Heavyweight Champion for a reason, he’s not fluked his way to the top, recording wins over the likes of Klitschko and Dillian Whyte, he’s the real deal.

I personally can’t see the Brit getting stopped in this fight and the bookies seem to think so too. They’re currently pricing Usyk at 7/1 for a KO win and 7/2 for a points or decision win. As mentioned earlier, Usyk is a volume puncher, not a knockout artist. It’s going to be tough to tee off on AJ and when the Champ has previously faced adversity, he’s come out on top in some way or another.

The move up to cruiserweight from heavyweight is absolutely massive and the punching power rarely converts over, with the Ukrainian’s style of hitting and not being hit, I think there’s only one way that he wins and it’s the points victory.

Joshua v Usyk Betting Offers

The bookmakers have pulled out the stops for Saturday's fight for new customers, William Hill are offering 25/1 (max £5 bet) that Joshua wins the fight and an enhanced 60/1 that the Brit does so in six rounds.

Elsewhere, 888Sport are offering enhanced odds of 6/1 Joshua or 16/1 Usyk for new customers, while Bet Victor are offering 5/1 Joshua or 10/1 Usyk to new customers.

Simply click any of the links on BettingOdds.com to qualify for these new customer offers.