An evaluation of Usyk's (and other top CW's) chances at HW

How many small hw's without great power have excelled in the division, who rely mainly on movement, excellent boxing IQ and skills?
As Kiwi says, Usyk would have to break the mold, theres very little historical precedent.

 

He also took flush shots from Medzhidov (who stopped Savon and Dychko with headgear on and outslugged Joshua) plus Nistor who stopped Joshua.

Uaine Fa beat Parker at least twice in the Am's and is 6'6 250lbs. By the 3rd round Usyk is handing him a beating.

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It will be good to see how Joshua handles his Wlad fight, especially if it goes the distance. He and Parker are probably the only top fighters at the moment who have time on their side (and dedication) to become more formidable as time passes. The others are either set for an age related decline or lacking the goods in some respects to capture then defend belts. Wilder is in his own category ... flawed but dangerous.

If Usyk takes on Gassiev and/or Briedis and his pro game plan brings him clear wins in those fights, then surely the capacity is there to counter big hitters and therefore move through selected HWs towards a belt. I don't think that he is going to be looking for early KO's at HW, it's more likely he will start very cautious then gear up in the later rounds. This tactic might work quite well especially against bigger fighters with any stamina issues.

 

I'm leaning towards option 3. Usyk is very good but he's not Lomachenko, he got tagged by Mchunu, Mueller and Hunter.
He also lacks power which was also confirmed by Wlad's sparring partner.

 

Uysk will be a challenge for me, But i have improved alot.

If he does have the heart to fight me, I will KO him brutally.

 

****ing spot on on damn near every front.

 

I would say #3. Usyk will have an even bigger speed edge and heavy, and I think his toughness and durability is being under sold. He's 6'3" with a 78" reach...better numbers than Chagaev, Povetkin, and Ibragimov, who also won heavyweight belts. Usyk and Ibragimov and Chagaev were the same weight class as amateurs...91K, heavyweight.

But the reason #3 is the most likely is the division in is in transition with older fighters, and little depth in the top ten. His time to make his move is 1-2 years as the next wave of super heavyweights from the 2016 games are scheduled to go pro in 2017!

 

Fist bump, fellow Kiwi. I don't really have anything to add - this starts showing some of the value of trolls, if everyone had a fair clue about that they were talking about, and were balanced and reasonable then someone would start a thread and everyone else would go "Yep, pretty much that."

 

Great effort Kiwiman

 

I honestly stopped reading after I saw an ellerbe post. Some nonsense about Parker beating Usyk yet Usyk dominated guys that beat Parker in the amateurs.

Such boring, pedantic rhetoric from that guy all based on emotion, he is so BORING!

 

The only competition out there for Usyk is Fury and Joshua.
If Usyk looks as good at HW as he does in WSB, I'd favour him over Joshua.

Usyk's game favours a lower output, bigger, slower heavyweight. Usyk is actually feinting his way and setting up his shots and building on his opponents counters to these shots, in the earlier rounds - they have no answer and Usyk has them figured out. This is the cerebral Lomachenko Senior Style.

Both Joshua and Fury's fighting abilities are quite limited. We saw Joshua getting outfought by Whyte almost until Joshua had to return to boxing.

Usyk's power is being underrated. He boxes safely and he leaves punching range to stop you from inflicting your favourite attacks.

No one is going to be able to outpoint Usyk the way Hunter was (in ultimately meaningless ways - Hunter was not actually investing in a solid gameplan whereas Usyk was).

To beat Usyk, you must FIGHT him.

 

I don't buy the line that's used alot about Usyk doing better against SHWs than he does against smaller fighters. As has been mentioned on this thread, smaller, lighter hitting hws who rely on movement etc like Usyk don't traditionally do well against bigger hw's at the highest levels.(not to say he wouldn't beat a fighter like Wach, just not top 5 shws).

Usyk did good at WSB, but it looked like he was just the most experienced guy there. Joyce was nailing him alot but looked intimidated. I just get the feeling it's one of those times where an amateur loss would get decisively avenged in the pros when they are on equal terms. We'll see if he ever moves up to HW, but I'm going to trust history and my gut over WSB results until he proves otherwise.

 

All that Ts post could be summed up shortly...

whats Usyks punching power and how did he look in his last fight against a top CW who had sub par power but good skill but only had 13 fights himself?

People are living off years ago performances against Hw's who were raw and honestly wouldn't rate in any HW order thats relevant NOW.

Looking at his last performance he doesnt do well at HW.And thats how you gage a guy who wants to be a HW,and hes also 6'3 ( below average Height TODAY ) and not overly fast or powerful so.........These are FACTS.

Andy Ruiz has power and Hw true experiance.He himself is to small to get a title ,even parker didnt do well,Ruiz isnt easy to hit like Usyk and Parker will improve,he fought a cautious fight to win a title.

Usyk wouldnt rank top 20 now,im not sure where he would rank? Maybe he gets wins,maybe not? The actual fights suggest he doesnt belong at Hw.