Who wins this, set at 15 rounds? Usyk is meeting a guy with excellent speed, not unlike himself really. He's also not a massive puncher, so maybe this is a good match for Floyd!
As of right now, I'll go with Patterson. If Usyk meets and defeats Tyson Fury and/or Deontay Wilder, I'll take another look at this match up.
I fancy Usyk. Sure Patterson has the speed but Usyk has the footwork and the fighting smarts. Usyk never been down whereas, well, we know about Floyd. Usyk is considerably bigger than him. 6'3 vs 6'0 and an 8 inch reach advantage. When you're talking about a smart boxer like Usyk that might be a mile.
Would it really take that much to sway you ? He beat Joshua twice. Dominated a very deep cruiserweight division which Patterson would be considered small in today. He’s never been beaten and to my knowledge has never been floored ( though I stand to be corrected on that one. )
This is a really intriguing match up and I like that they both moved up to heavyweight both Olympic Gold medalists and have quite contrasting styles. I'd love to say Floyd Patterson but I think Olexsander Uysk is just too patient and elusive for Patterson who I don't know if he would be able to cut the ring on Uysk and get him to remain in one place and launch his fast left hooks and unload with his handspeed. I want Patterson to win this one but I think Uysk cruises on a slippery points decision.
My brain is crashing thinking about this. Usky tries to out clever people, but Patterson is faster and can pressure him. That might end in Usky trying a more aggressive approach, then Patterson going more defensive. They both switch tactics, until Usky pulls something out of the bag.
He was knocked down once in 350 amateur fights by that was when he was a really young fighter and competing at Middleweight. He has competed at the absolute highest level at amateur and professional and has never been dropped as a pro. Joshua definitely hurt him in the last fight but Uysk battered him back the next round. Uysk has a tremendous chin but also is flat amazing defensively and has the heart of a lion. A lot of folks discount the two wins Uysk has over Joshua. I guess they forgot that Joshua beat the brakes off of Vladimir Klitschko who dominated the division for well over a decade. All respect to Patterson but he never fought anything like Uysk. Southpaws that can box like him simply were not around in those days. I don't think he ever faced a southpaw which really does make a HuGE difference. Anyone that says it doesn't, never fought.
Agree 100% on everything you say except it needs to be pointed out that Wladimir Klitschko was finished when he fought Joshua. He was 41 years old coming out of retirement and a loss. In fact a truly good prime champion shouldn’t have gotten so much hell from a shot fighter the way that Joshua got from Klit. Nevertheless I agree Usyk would be a big problem for Patterson.
Similar? well in that fight, Patterson’s back went, around the third round, which obviously affected the outcome.
I like and rate Usyk highly. However, despite heady comparisons, Oleksandr is not Ali and therefore he doesn’t assume the same H2H value. Usyk’s D is very good but he is not as unhittable as implied - he was quite marked up from both Joshua fights. But that is where we got to also measure his chin - and he does have an excellent to great beard. Based on the net value of his size, speed and skill combined I would deem Usyk as a slight favourite - but this match could be a very close one and go either way in my eyes.
Usyk is bigger and more skilled than Patterson and far better than anybody Patterson beat, AJ would have destroyed every fighter Patterson beat. No fighter with 69.5 inch reach could beat Usyk, it would be like Ali v Patterson in the 60`s, Usyk is the same size as Ali was.