I’ve heard good things as far as Allen being a decent gym fighter goes. Usyk simply sparring with an experienced durable plodder ahead of fighting an experienced durable plodder.
Exactly. There’s a reason it’s sparring. Blokes earning a living and obviously has good gym etiquette
Precisely. He's well rated for his effort and work rate by all peers and has been used to all top current fighters. Lots of fans act as if the entire division is only a top 3 table and nobody else matters.
Saw a little bit of Dave saying it is "worrying" because he sparred a few round and Usyk looked very good yet Allen had the impression he was just "playing with him". Also said Usyks movement was superb and he was razor sharp. So I'm assuming he meant worrying for Chisora. Or maybe he meant for future spars but either way, Usyk is looking in great shape. Anyway, the point of Dave Allen, well it's about having somebody in front of you to get your range and distance spot on but most importantly somebody who can take a smacking and Allen for all his faults and there are many can take punishment. Usyk is elite level, he will land, he can dig a little bit and you need somebody who can take it, who is used to taking it and can keep giving you what you need. So Usyk can get rounds, Dave Allen is around 6 foot 2, Chisora roughly the same size, both heavy, so it isn't exactly bad sparring, Chisora isn't exactly a bag of tricks, he will come forward and maul and brawl and that's about all Allen can do.
What I thought was pointless was Chisora’s camp pulling in Gashi as a sparring partner for prep for Usyk. Gashi ran for his life against Chisora and Takam in 2 dreadful fights. Usyk isn’t a runner, he sets a high work rate and punch output on the front foot.
Style-wise I think it makes sense and it is getting attention in the UK (such as this thread...) in terms of building the fight. Usyk is going to play with chisora anyway -- lets not doubt that for a second. This is a hyped fight but will be a walk in the park for Usyk
Chisora should have hired Ajit Kabayel, who works with AJ a lot in sparring. Kabayel is a great mover so he would have been good prep for Usyk. Mind you, Chisora, Haye and Sky have done all they can to completely remove that schooling that Kabayel dished out on Chisora from memory, so I'm sure they'd be happy to have nothing to do with the Kurdish Ali ever again. The boxing fans will never forget though, that was an absolute boxing lesson.
It was close on the cards wasn’t it but I felt he was a clear winner that night, too. Still chugging along unbeaten, Kabayel. He needs to make more noise.
I have a feeling he is avoided. I remember when Miller failed a drugs test, Hearn name dropped Kabayel as a potential opponent but it could have been disastrous (well it was disastrous with Ruiz but point remains).
In sparring tho he prob wont fight like that, bigger gloves and headgear protects them. He might just be getting used for aspects of what usyk can do in terms of being able to land on someone mobile? Then again he might still be a runner full stop?!