I did not see the fight yet, but I did see the KO, and wow that was a vicious shot. My question is this. Usyk is a good boxer, and he will need to be if he ever moves up to heavyweight. So why was it reported that Bellew who to be fair is also skilled was in the lead? Was Bellew just having a very good night prior to the stoppage? Were the judges fair?
Bellew boxed well but like the Hunter fight, Usyk started slow to get his range on point, timing sorted and read Bellew’s approach. I had it 5-2 Usyk at the start of the eight round but 4-3 either way would have been acceptable tbh. One judge had Bellew three up which was totally ridiculous. In the end Bellew blew himself out. He was visibly tired by the end of the fourth round and he was constantly on the back foot from the start of the fourth. Usyk boxed a masterclass, just because he lost a few rounds to Bellew doesn’t mean anything. He certainly wasn’t outboxed. If anything Bellew won the early rounds because of output and control of the centre of the ring. As I stated after the third, Usyk was controlling the centre of the ring and was on the front foot for the rest of the fight.
I had 4-3 Usyk. Bellew took the first 3 but he didn't exactly dominate. He did well and made Usyk think a little harder than we might have expected, but like CTF said, the same was true with the Hunter fight. I think he was slow at the start against Mchunu too if I recall. It means he works out who he is against properly but the cost of rounds inflates massively when you're the away fighter.
Doesn't really matter that Bellew won the first three rounds when he used pretty much all his 12-round reserves to do so. He won three battles but in doing so lost the war, and I think Uysk knew this....
? One thing I don't get is Usyk wasn't even really forcing the issue when bellews gas tank emptied. And bellew wasn't fighting at a particularly furious pace for him whole thing was just weird
Nervous energy, Perhaps? Mental fatigue through being forced to concentrate for three minutes of every round. Having to take three steps for every one of Uysk's, which he did to remain elusive. Maybe Uysk's punches hurt more than they appeared to in the early rounds. Bellew also had to make weight for the first time in two years. Whatever the reasons were, he was fatigued after three rounds and gassed after five...
It was down to Usyk’s front foot approach. When Usyk is on the front foot doubling the jab and feinting and throwing punches while on his toes it doesn’t give the opponent a moment to breathe. Bellew loves fighting at a slower pace.
Bellew was up 4-3. Usyk took a while to get going but I don't subscribe to it being deliberate... That's just a fanboy excuse. Even when Bellew was up you knew he wouldn't win simply because cutting from 2 fights at HW was obviously going to effect his stamina and he'd tire well before 12.
The 5-2 judge seemed to be counting the content of his brown envelope instead of watching the fight, so you can dismiss that score right away. Was watching it again a couple of hours ago and everything between 5-2 Usyk to 4-3 Bellew was in the ballpark, due to a number of rounds being really close. But from round 5 on Usyk had taken over and seemed to be running away with things. The Sky commentary crew went overboard so much that Malignaggi had to call them out on it, it was like a cheerleader sqaud. Oh Bellew you're so fine.. you're so fine we blow your...
I agree it wasn't 'deliberate' by Uysk to let the first few rounds evolve as they did, but I do suspect he knew Bellew could not keep up that pace or that amount of movement for very long and played the waiting game before sitting down on his punches...
Usyk pressured him and Bellew used a lot of explosive force when countering. That pressure might not seem much, but it´s a real ***** to deal with. And if you constantly go from 0-100 then it will take a toll.
I had it 4-3 Bellew going into the 8th. Could have been 4-3 the other way. This idea that Usyk was "struggling" and was taking "massive right hands" sounds like 1950's Cold War propaganda. The first couple rounds were clearly Bellew's; he was doing good work but at all times he was backing up from Usyk's non-stop pressure. Finally, the pressure became too much for Bellew.
Yep, being moved around the ring and constantly having to think about feints whilst countering drains the hell out of you.