TONIGHT at the spectacular Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London, 70,000 spectators will gather in defiance of Covid to watch one of the most intriguing heavyweight match-ups in some time.

Ukraine’s undefeated Oleksandr Usyk could well prove Anthony Joshua’s toughest test, given the former’s phenomenal technical skills and ring IQ. The determining factor will be the role that Joshua’s significant advantage in reach and size impacts on the proceedings, with most boxing commentators and writers making AJ favourite going in precisely because of his size advantage.

This writer disagrees. Joshua, for me, has never been the same since being stopped by Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden in 2019. Supremely conditioned athlete that he is, he is vulnerable, and in his last two fights – against Ruiz Jr in the rematch, followed by Kubrat Pulev – he fought like a man who knows it.