All this "in the opponents backyard" talk is way overblown. Never heard anyone make such a fuss over it until recently
Excellent analysis. Too many here are giving EH the benefit of the doubt (wasn't prime, etc.) in all areas. But strictly analyzing Usyk and diminishing his accomplishments. Beating AJ 2X is on par w/ anything Holy did. AJ would be very competitive and could defeat all those HW "greats" Holy defeated... and lost to. I like Mike Tyson but he's very overrated here. I'd bet AJ could beat Mike by boxing safely, then maybe going for the stoppage in the later rounds. Similar to Lewis-Tyson. AJ couldn't defeat an old Foreman, Holmes, Bowe, and the lessor HWs Holy fought?? Please Having said all that, if prime Holy faced prime Usyk I think it would be very competitive and too close to call. The sample size is for sure small, but how did Holy fare vs. lefty stance?
Holyfield would, of course, have the greater resume, but Usyk always traveling and never having lost unlike Holyfield who was usually sort of a runner-up would make Usyk greater for me if he beats Fury.
Yeah ok let's favour Usyk against one of the greatest Heavyweights of all time in Lewis. Because he beat Joshua and Chisora I got you, this is what I mean by fans overrating Usyk.
Joshua got pummeled by a fat Ruiz and you favour him over Tyson ? Ok then. Joshua would get poleaxed by Bowe, Lewis, Tyson, in under 6 rounds. A 40+ semi retired Wladimir damn near finished Joshua. No one is "diminishing" Usyk I'm just not ready to call him the Heavyweight GOAT, because he beat Chisora and Joshua. And no one is making excuses for Holyfield either, its just bringing up losses whilst he was shot and over the age of 40. I don't think should be used against Holyfield to diminish his greatness. If Usyk can beat the likes of Fury, Joyce, Wilder, then I'll be the first one to stand up and call him H2H one of the best Heavyweight since Lewis. But until that happens I'm not quite ready to put him on a pedestal yet.
Usyk also fought the WBS fights at Heavyweight vs the likes of Joe Joyce, which are pretty much like actual professional fights. So for me he was always a perfectly sized Heavyweight fighting at Cruiserweight. I think most of the top Cruiserweights now could make Heavyweight comfortably, it's just we are in the era of Super Heavyweights and giants like Joshua, Joyce, Wilder, Fury. But Usyk in pretty much any other era would be a perfectly sized Heavyweight, even for today's standards hes not exactly a small Heavyweight at 6'3 220+.
Just for the record because people seeing my posts may think i'm hating on Usyk that's not the case, i actually like Usyk as a fighter and i commend him for going to fighters backyards, and i like the fact that he's willing to challenge himself. But i'm just not quite as high on him at Heavyweight as most other fans are right now, i want to see more evidence of him fighting other top Heavyweights before i really evaluate his greatness at Heavyweight. For now Holyfield for me is quite clearly ahead of Usyk, but that could all change in the next few years or it could be the total opposite. Overall i would just say wait and see what happens before we start putting Usyk on a pedestal.
I'm not dissing your hero Holy. I've posted that a fight between them in their primes would be very competitive. That's hardly dumping on EH. Past prime Tyson. Yes. Fat Andy would be very competitive vs. most top pre 2000s HWs. He was the first to defeat an undefeated 3 belt champ in this era. No. I could see AJ beating Bowe (who ran from LL) & Tyson. I'd favor Lewis. Yes, a past it Wlad gave AJ a serious run for the money. But Wlad was a great HW and kept himself in top condition. You're diminishing Wlad to diminish AJ. It's a common, sometimes unfair technique used here and in all sports forums. Now you're straw manning. I've never hinted that Usyk is a HW GOAT. But since even a smallish HW like Usyk is bigger or equal in size w/loads of talent to pre 2000s (especially pre 1980s) HWs, I think he'd do well vs. many former HW champs. I think he easily beats Patterson & Ingo... and others too. However most overrate the HWs of old here. Problem for Usyk is he's mid 30s. If he beats 2 of the 3 he should be put on a pedestal. Would Holy or many HW champs before the 2000s defeat Fury, Joyce, Wilder - that would be some trifecta - and AJ 2X?! I think many would fail to pull that off. You're setting quite a high bar for Usyk, a bar most pre 2000s HW champs would fail or be very hard pressed to jump over. Which current HW beats these three plus AJ? Nobody, and the fights couldn't be made anyway. Not the way it is in this era.
1970s, certainly 1960s & back he's a fairly big HW. Not a giant, but a very good sized and very talented HW. He beats most of those HW champs of old. But most have a nostalgic (and other not as nice sounding) bias for the older HW champs.
