Usyk won't be in cruiserweight tournament!

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by houmzz, Jun 7, 2017.


Page 1 of 4
  1. houmzz

    houmzz Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

    18,895
    2,505
    Jul 13, 2012
    WBO cruiserweight champion of the world Oleksandr Usyk (12-0, 10 KOs), who won his belt in Poland in September and has had both of his title defenses in the United States (and on HBO), will return home to Ukraine, where he is a popular figure after winning the heavyweight Olympic gold medal in 2012, to make defense No. 3, Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions told ESPN.

    Usyk's homecoming fight as a world titleholder will come against an opponent to be determined at a soccer stadium in late August in Odessa. "The Ukrainian fans are looking forward to his return," Loeffler said.

    http://boxingnews.com.ua/en/news/19...hto-on-provedet-boj-v-kontse-avgusta-v-odesse

    Tournament starts in September, impossible for fighter of his stature to compete in a tournament in September after fighting in August.
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2017
    houmzz, Jun 7, 2017
    houmzz, Jun 7, 2017
    #1
  2. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace

    82,092
    22,182
    Sep 15, 2009
    Extremely disappointing, but not unexpected based on what I've seen of Usyk so far.
     
    lufcrazy, Jun 7, 2017
    lufcrazy, Jun 7, 2017
    #2
    Odins beard and houmzz like this.
  3. Robney

    Robney ᴻᴼ ᴸᴼᴻᴳᴲᴿ ᴲ۷ᴵᴸ

    93,552
    28,275
    Jan 18, 2010
    That sucks carrots!
    Without him there's less legitimacy for the eventual winner to be the #1 CW out there.

    It's like the Super 6 without Bute, before the Froch fight.
     
    Robney, Jun 7, 2017
    Robney, Jun 7, 2017
    #3
    jquest, Odins beard, radupidu and 1 other person like this.
  4. Gannicus

    Gannicus 2014 Poster of the Year Full Member

    13,452
    2,990
    Mar 4, 2014
    Defence number 3?!
    I rate Mchunu and think Hunter is mediocre, the only way this is justifiable to me is if he couldn't get a fight with the top dogs and the guy he's fighting is a genuinely good name, otherwise VACATE YOUR BELT.
     
    Gannicus, Jun 7, 2017
    Gannicus, Jun 7, 2017
    #4
  5. Kevin Willis

    Kevin Willis Boxing Junkie banned Full Member

    9,692
    11,867
    Jan 16, 2013
    I just had a feeling this would be the case. At least the tournament winner can emerge as a legitimate 1 vs 2 match up against Usyk.
     
    Kevin Willis, Jun 7, 2017
    Kevin Willis, Jun 7, 2017
    #5
    Todd498, Ph33rknot, UnleashtheFURY and 1 other person like this.
  6. radupidu

    radupidu Boxing Addict Full Member

    3,450
    2,457
    Apr 17, 2010
    They're always setting up these tournaments like that. They want the business/hype to continue even after the tournament is over.
     
    radupidu, Jun 7, 2017
    radupidu, Jun 7, 2017
    #6
  7. dellboi94

    dellboi94 Boxing Addict Full Member

    6,111
    1,680
    Sep 3, 2013
    Usyk will not be considered the number one cruiserweight after the tournament has finished. He's pulling a Bute.
     
    dellboi94, Jun 7, 2017
    dellboi94, Jun 7, 2017
    #7
    qwertyblahblah and houmzz like this.
  8. UnleashtheFURY

    UnleashtheFURY D'oh!

    73,318
    39,913
    Sep 29, 2012
    I honestly don't care just so long as he and the winner square off...
     
    UnleashtheFURY, Jun 7, 2017
    UnleashtheFURY, Jun 7, 2017
    #8
    jquest, Robney and Ph33rknot like this.
  9. Pimp C

    Pimp C Too Much Motion

    123,179
    35,354
    Jun 23, 2005
    That tournament would have been so much better with him in it.
     
    Pimp C, Jun 7, 2017
    Pimp C, Jun 7, 2017
    #9
  10. Rock0052

    Rock0052 Loyal Member Full Member

    34,221
    5,875
    Apr 30, 2006
    Bute tried to get invited and wasn't because the networks wanted 3 American fighters and 3 Euros. They didn't invite him as a replacement because Showtime's plan was for him to fight the winner.

    Pinning that on Bute is 100% revisionism, pure and simple. Usyk elected not to participate. Bute never got the invite.
     
    Rock0052, Jun 7, 2017
    Rock0052, Jun 7, 2017
    #10
    Robney, Ph33rknot, Kevin Willis and 1 other person like this.
  11. _Scott_

    _Scott_ Boxing Addict Full Member

    3,169
    2,167
    Sep 7, 2015
    He knows damn well that Kudryashov would knock him out early on, obvious duck...
     
    _Scott_, Jun 7, 2017
    _Scott_, Jun 7, 2017
    #11
  12. Serge

    Serge Ginger Dracula Staff Member

    81,333
    133,831
    Jul 21, 2009
    Bute was the reigning IBF SMW champion, was ranked #2 at 168, a knockout puncher, and had defeated 3 opponents ranked in the Ring magazine's top 10 SMW ratings, wasn't invited to participate in a tournament that was supposedly put together with the goal of trying to establish who the premier fighter at 168 was.

    He wasn't invited at the expense of 3 Americans, one of whom (Taylor) was a career MW who was 1-3 in his last 4 fights and had suffered vicious TKO stoppage defeats in 2 of those losses, the lone victory coming against a shot fighter. What happens if Taylor suffers another brutal stoppage defeat in his first fight in the tourney, guys? Where does that leave him and your tournament? Oh, wait that's exactly what happened. Taylor got sparked out cold in horrible fashion and developed a brain bleed. What a clever idea it was to include him in the tournament.

    The other American (Andre Dirrell) hadn't beaten anyone other than Curtis Stevens and in that fight he stunk out the joint so bad you can still hear the echos of the boos when you walk past the venue now. A fight so bad HBO's Harold Lederman described it as the ''worst fight he'd ever seen'' and he's been watching fights since before the Industrial revolution. And to top it off, at the end of the fight Dirrell was caught on camera saying he didn't care if the crowd booed because he was still gonna get paid.

    The other American (Andre Ward) was ranked #8 at 168 and hadn't beaten anyone other winning a 12 UD over a past it Edison Miranda, the same Miranda who 11 months later Bute would score a sensational one punch KO against in 3 one-sided rounds without even breaking into a sweat.

    Arthur Abraham was a career MW too.

    Kessler, Bute and Froch should've been the first 3 names out of the hat.
     
    Serge, Jun 7, 2017
    Serge, Jun 7, 2017
    #12
    jquest, Robney, The Akbar One and 2 others like this.
  13. ChicagoBoxLife

    ChicagoBoxLife Active Member Full Member

    825
    8
    May 22, 2013
    Not surprised at all. He could sit on top while the rest battle it out.
     
    ChicagoBoxLife, Jun 7, 2017
    ChicagoBoxLife, Jun 7, 2017
    #13
  14. bcr

    bcr Well-Known Member Full Member

    2,563
    1,440
    Dec 21, 2013
    Well that's a shame, Usyk probably thinks that he's above the tournament after two fights on HBO, but he's still a Cruiserweight, the tournament was arguably his best option financially and definitely his best option legacy wise.
    Not hating on him, but I see fighters like Crawford, Ward (or Kovalev) and Golovkin a belt away from becoming undisputed, fighters like Spence or Lomachenko chasing the toughest fights and even DeGale facing the top dogs, I'm sure they all would like a chance to enter a tournament that would give them the most money and the chance of becoming #1 at the division and the funny thing is that Cruiserweight is probably the division that could do more money from a tournament than not and that Usyk is probably the most predictable winner over the guys listed above on their respective divisions.
     
    bcr, Jun 7, 2017
    bcr, Jun 7, 2017
    #14
  15. radupidu

    radupidu Boxing Addict Full Member

    3,450
    2,457
    Apr 17, 2010
    Does anyone know if Usik has a contract with HBO ?
    I suppose nobody knows wich TV network will show both tournaments.
    I suspect it will be Showtime and Sky.
     
    radupidu, Jun 7, 2017
    radupidu, Jun 7, 2017
    #15
    Kevin Willis likes this.
Page 1 of 4