Byrd was extremely mobile and skilful as tricky southpaw, Olympian medalist who won the heavyweight title. I have absolutely nothing against Usyk who I rate very highly even before the AJ victory. In my opinion he is pound for pound the best boxer in the world right now and I felt he was better than Lomachenko personally. You do know Ike was better than AJ more fundamentally sound with an all round game. Ike was like Evander Holyfield just bigger and stronger and just as good.
That was a stupid comment the guy saying Ike was to small for Usyk. Some posters here don’t know **** about boxing.
True Byrd was mobile and elusive but he loved to fight in the pocket, he spent periods of the fight with Ike backed up, hands down, slipping shots and even trading with him and eventually that cost him against Ike. Usyk doesn't fight this way, he'd keep it in the centre of the ring, stay off the ropes and keep making Ike reset. Ike isn't light on his feet, he often steps in with a wide stance for leverage for his power shots and while the cuts the distance at first it doesn't allow him to easily change angles and against Usyk that's going to leave Ike struggling to land consistently. Ike does give Usyk a tougher fight though, based on styles, you are right about that. Ike can throw a lot and won't stop coming even if Usyk lands cleanly.
Like Brighton said, Byrd has great movement as shown against Tua but against Ibeabuchi he was up close a lot more than against Tua, slipping, and that's how he eventually got clipped. Usyk would not do this. Usyk is also bigger than Byrd and has a better chin. Ibeabuchi probably would give him a tougher fight than Joshua and he's a live dog but i favor Usyk
Wrong, movement will heavily trouble Ibeabuchi, as Byrd showed, but Byrd got too comfortable in the pocket because Byrd is good in the pocket but not as good as Ike and that was his downfall. Usyk wins. You underestimated Usyk against Joshua and Joyce and now you're underestimating him here. Usyk is the favorite because he's a better pure boxer than Ike and will move around more than Byrd, and he has a better chin. Ike is arguably on Holyfields level in terms of infighting but in terms of pressure fighting he's not even close. Usyk takes it
Ibeabuchi is certainly better than Chisora, but i just think it's his robotic style and slow feet that plays into Usyk's hands. If he were say, as good on the front foot as Frazier he'd cause Usyk all sorts of problems with his workrate as shown against Tua regardless of his size. But i do definitely favor Usyk, no disagreement there at all.
Now if we're talking about Frazier who would give Usyk all kinds of fits then he wouldn't need to be 10 feet tall to beat Usyk. 7 foot would be a good scrap I would rule 50/50 though.
I did not underestimate Usyk more a case of underrating the tactical ineptitude of Robert McCracken’s fight strategy. When you fight a master boxer you don’t go in their to box with him rather as the bigger stronger taller man you put it on him. Even feet positioning was all wrong.
Interesting matchup. I have to go with Ike though. In a somewhat flip from the norm, I think Usyk is competitive early (as opposed to coming on later), but that Ikes power and relentlessness begins to take over and he winds up catching Usyk with shots mid fight that Usyks brain doesnt handle too well. I'll say Ike UD or late stoppage. ...... Edit : Just watched Ike vs Byrd. Had been 5 years or more since I last watched it. Ike is slower and more plodding than I remember. Byrd is also slower than I remember. Byrd did pretty good job at making Ike miss... until he didnt. Byrd started out well but for some reason in the 4th he starts to become stationary. He quite literally backs himself into the corner. I dont know if he started getting overconfident in his ability to time Ike, and felt he could also handle the power, but was a stupid tactic change by Byrd. And one Usyk wouldnt make. Usyk would be fighting at a high pace, constant movement, and dictating the distance its fought at, at all times. Fight is closer than I thought. I think Usyk has a good chance here actually.