- THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas
- Posts
- 🥊 Bad Blood
🥊 Bad Blood
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Fight With Teddy Atlas Newsletter, your one-stop shop for all things combat sports related, brought to you by Teddy and The Fight team.
Every Friday We Bring You:
A combat sports news digest with all the headlines you need to know from Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts.
Highlights from the podcast and across the fight world.
Fight times and information you need to know ahead of time.
Fight News From Around The 🌍
History Is Made
Oleksandr Usyk became a 2-weight undisputed world champion last week as he beat Tyson Fury by split decision, winning the undisputed crown and making the case for himself as the best heavyweight of his generation.
When he first moved up to heavyweight in 2019, there were pundits and fans alike who thought he was too small for the weight. Cruiserweight is one thing, but the land of heavyweights seemed like a jump too far for a man who (in the amateurs), competed as far down as middleweight.
How far away that all seems now.
Oleksandr Usyk has not only defeated Anthony Joshua twice but in beating Fury, he has taken the scalps of the two heavyweights who had always seemed destined to be on a collision course to determine which of them would go down as the man of their generation of heavyweights.
Now, as long as he sticks around, there is no doubt that Oleksandr Usyk is the king of the heavyweights and all the roads to the crown go through him.
Given how close the fight was, Tyson Fury will feel he has every right to demand an immediate rematch. He deserves all the credit in the world for surviving the onslaught in the 9th round (albeit controversially), as well as performing like a true champion at various other points in the fight.
Usyk may have won the fight, but he has met his match in Fury, and it would no doubt make a great fight if the two were to eventually run it back.
Until then, or at least until the sanctioning fee-collectors sanctioning bodies decide to keep the belts together, we will have an undisputed king of the heavyweights after 25 years: Oleksandr Usyk.
Leave No Doubt
Just over two years after their controversial first fight, Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall will go at it again, with both hoping that this time, the result will be much more decisive.
Catterall put in a fantastic performance the first time around, knocking Taylor down in the 8th and boxing smart throughout the fight. It wasn’t enough for the judges to award him the decision, and whilst he didn’t walk away as the Undisputed champion, he at the very least announced himself as a genuine world-level operator.
Since then, he’s built on the momentum of that night, picking up a couple of dominant decision wins, including one against a faded but still competitive Jorge Linares. The fact he’s stayed busy, combined with the elusive and slippery style that caused Taylor problems the first time around, will give him a boost going into the rematch.
Taylor has had contrasting fortunes.
His Undisputed crown was gradually stripped away by various unmet mandatory challenges and sanctioning body demands, and he lost his remaining belts (WBO & The Ring) when he was beaten by Teofimo Lopez back in June of last year, in what has been his only fight since the win against Catterall.
He’s now coming off of 2 fairly flat performances in the space of 2 years, with his Undisputed sealing win against Jose Ramirez being his last real solid performance.
There were rumblings of him moving up in weight, but he ultimately decided to remain at light-welterweight and has set his sights on regaining his former titles.
All the signs could be pointing to Catterall righting the wrongs of the first fight and picking up a victory, setting him up for future world title opportunities at 140 lbs.
Although not in form, Taylor is still a talented fighter, who effectively cleaned up at 140 lbs not too long ago. The landscape may have changed since then, but a fighter who manages to attain undisputed status can’t be counted out all that easily.
Both men will have to be at nothing but their very best if they want to put the first fight behind them and leave no doubt as to who the better fighter is. Throw in the fact that there is definitely no love lost between these two, and we have all the ingredients for a great fight.
Fight ⏰ for this weekend
Boxing: Taylor vs Catterall 2 (Saturday 25th/Sunday 26th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 2pm Eastern/ 11am Pacific | Main Event: 5pm Eastern/ 2pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 7pm| Main Event: 10pm
🇦🇺 Full Card: 4am Eastern/ 2am Western | Main event: 7am Eastern/ 5am Western
Boxing: Mbili vs Heffron (Saturday 25th/Sunday 26th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific | Main Event: 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 2am | Main Event: 4am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 11am Eastern/ 9am Western | Main event: 1pm Eastern/ 11am Western