Usyk I'd say 8-4s him I reckon. Povetkin was very good though and he didn't really have a valid loss in his prime (Wlads disgraceful performance would have been a DQ if rules were followed and enforced)
Povetkin couldn’t win a proper belt in his whole career. It took Usyk 3 to become the unified champion (albeit beat a relatively weak champion).
Why do you think Usyk would not fight a prime Povetkin? Nothing in Usyk's history shows he waits good fighters out. In fact, it's the opposite.
Negative. Povetkin had tremendous offensive versatility by HW standards, but he’d be basic for Usyk. First 5 rounds or so would be competitive, but Usyk would cruise from that point on and win a clear decision.
I have not suggested Usyk would wait out Povetkin, i was answering on the lines of the thread title, "prime Povetkin vs Usyk".
I am completely serious. The fight against Klitschko is not worth much because of the disgraceful refereeing. And Joshua had a hard time against him when he had passed his prime. We can perfectly think that two years younger he could have won. Povetkin stole Whyte's soul at almost 41.
All four were different class to Povetkin. Agree he is a better boxer than Wilder but Deontay would knock him out
Pov fought at a level above Wilder. Way more successful career if you look at anything besides paper defenses vs journeymen and the resume gap speaks volumes. Pov has wins over Chagaev, Byrd, Whyte, Rahman, Huck, Chambers and so many more. Wilder ran from an aging Pov and didn't have the career Pov did. Wilder gets credit vs 38 year old Ortiz, nobody gives Pov credit for beating anybody that old, because he didn't have to rely on fighting old men and journeymen.
I don't care he beat those cruiserweights, Chisora and AJ. Usyk went life and death against Briedis. Povetkin would definitely beat him.
What's wrong with what he said? Prime Pov was causing Wlad a lot of problems, which is why he had to resort to dirty tactics and basically cheat his way to victory. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered, but without Wlad's awful tactics and ref bias, it would have been a close fight. Pov's style would be the most difficult style for Usyk to deal with. With Usyk you need to make it physical and aggressive. Which is what Pov was. I think Usyk would have survived and probably won by a decision, but it would have been close.