A Ghetto Nerd’s Notebook: Usyk Joshua II Post-fight

( Photo by Francois Melecketchy)

You cannot make your status in your art or trade your god. Your art can mean so much. Your art can be your central passion. But dear sweet black baby Jesus, it cannot make you whole.

Anthony Joshua was a troubled Brixton kid who made his trade, boxing, his whole life, and it made him a lot of money. But some fighters get old quick. And some fighters just don’t have the intangibles to be the immortal they desperately want to be. Some of his flaws as a fighter were intertwined: He fought for the title too fast because his management was concerned with his chin. But who the fuck was the Einstein on his team who thought, “We shouldn’t send him to the states and teach him lateral movement. He should fight straight up like too many British also ran heavyweights to count?”

And yet his tremendous will, plus his skills ( jab, tremendous power), made him a good fighter who got into entertaining fights. He had a good run as heavyweight champ. He had a solid set of defensive skills that protected his fragile chin. There is no shame in being a good fighter with a fragile chin( and an inability to get out of the way of a good lead). They aren’t a recipe for having a long career, but I’m grateful he gave what he gave in that ring. (Being an ex-pug who couldn’t get out of the way of a…