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Two of the best active boxers, pound for pound, meet when Anthony Joshua of Great Britain faces Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine in a scheduled 12-round bout on Saturday. It will be for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight championship. Both fighters are coming off impressive showings. Joshua, rated the seventh-best boxer, retained his four championship belts with a ninth-round knockout of Kubrat Pulev last December. Usyk, the world’s fourth-best boxer, won a unanimous decision over Derek Chisora for the WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight crown.
Action on the main card will begin at 1 p.m. ET with the headliners set to start around 5:10 p.m. ET. Joshua is at -260 (risk $260 to win $100), while Usyk is a +210 underdog in the latest Joshua vs. Usyk odds from Caesars Sportsbook. The over-under for total rounds expected is set at 10.5. Before locking in any Usyk vs. Joshua picks, make sure you check out the boxing predictions from SportsLine combat sports analyst Brandon Wise.
Wise, who is the combat sports editor for CBS Sports, is an experienced boxing analyst. His strong 2021 boxing record includes nailing the outcome of the much-anticipated fight between Paul and Askren. Wise told SportsLine members to expect an early knockout from Paul (-170), who delivered with a first-round overhand right against the hapless Askren (+150), who visibly stumbled after taking the referee’s count. Anyone who has followed Wise’s combat sports picks has seen massive returns.
What’s more, Wise also has been on point with his UFC predictions. He called Israel Adesanya by decision at +140 and Brandon Moreno to win outright at +190 at UFC 263 earlier this summer.
Now, with Saturday’s showdown fast approaching, Wise has studied Joshua vs. Usyk from every angle, identified the best value in the boxing odds and released highly confident picks. You can head to SportsLine now to see all of his expert boxing picks.
Why you should back Joshua
Wise notes that 31-year-old Joshua has an impressive resume. In 25 total fights, he has 24 wins with 22 of those coming by knockout. He is a two-time world heavyweight title holder, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO championships since December 2019. He also previously held those four between March 2018 and June 2019.
As an amateur, Joshua won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics and was a silver medalist at super-heavyweight at the 2011 World Championships. The Ring ranks Joshua as the second-best active heavyweight. He has also been ranked by BoxRec as a top 10 heavyweight since 2014, and was No. 1 at the end of both 2016 and 2017.
Why you should back Usyk
Usyk has dominated the cruiserweight division since his first professional fight in September 2013, at age 26. He won all 16 bouts at that weight class before making the jump to heavyweight. On Oct. 12, 2019, he won his first heavyweight match when Chazz Witherspoon retired at the three minute mark in the seventh round. He followed that up with a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Derek Chisora last October, to win the WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight crown.
Throughout his career, Usyk has dominated opponents. His first nine bouts were won by knockout and just five of his fights since have gone the distance. He has knocked out five opponents in the fifth round or earlier. In his last match at cruiserweight to become the undisputed champion, Usyk earned a unanimous decision win over Murat Gassiev in July 2018 at Moscow’s Olympic Stadium.
How to make Joshua vs. Usyk picks
Wise likes the fight to go over 10.5 total rounds. He’s also made the call on which fighter wins, and has a strong prop pick that returns 3-1. You can see all of Wise’s expert picks and analysis at SportsLine.
Who wins Joshua vs. Usyk? And which prop is a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see Brandon Wise’s best bets for Saturday, all from the CBS combat sports specialist who was all over Jake Paul’s win over Ben Askren earlier this year, and find out.