If shot Fury beats peak Usyk, where does he rank?

Usyk is a lot slower and that will favour Fury as the much larger man.

 

Wilder with hindsight isn't an impressive win. Dubois already has a better career than Wilder and of course Fury didn't fight him.

 

There was no window for Fury to fight him. Up until this year he would be laughed at for taking that fight and now he's focused on Usyk.

 

A bit like Joshua, with hindsight, isn't an impressive win for Usyk --- Again, thanks to Dubois.

 

AJ has way better resume than Wilder tho. Deontay was only tested by Ortiz - his only Top 10 title defence. AJ was fighting multiple Top 10 contenders and beat them.

 

I agree that Joshua has a deeper resume than Wilder, but my point isn’t about comparing their overall records. It’s about the consistency in evaluating wins with hindsight. If we devalue Fury’s victories because Wilder’s stock has dropped, then by the same logic, we can question Usyk’s wins over Joshua, especially given Joshua’s decline and recent loss to Dubois. It’s less about the records and more about applying the same standard fairly.

Additionally, while Joshua’s resume looks better on paper, most of his standout wins --- like Klitschko, Parker, and Povetkin --- came before his loss to Ruiz Jr. Since then, his form has been inconsistent, and he hasn’t secured any significant victories, only adding two losses to Usyk. This decline mirrors Wilder’s downturn, so it’s reasonable to consider these factors when assessing the quality of Usyk’s wins as well.

 

I get your point and I'm not fully discrediting Fury's victory over Wilder. He was the best avialable guy for him to fight in February 2020 and that's what you should expect from the champion. Wilder just wasn't that beast that some people made him out to be.

 

Again, I understand your position, but it was Fury who faced Wilder when he was still seen as "that beast" with an aura of invincibility about him. Neither Joshua nor Usyk took on Wilder at that peak moment. It was Fury's wins that exposed Wilder's ceiling, so devaluing them in hindsight still seems a tad unfair to me, given that Fury was the one who changed the narrative.

 

Yeah, but it was because Wilder chose to fight Fury instead of AJ, despite getting the offer both camps considered legit. If it wasn't for Wilder's decision, AJ could have been the one exposing Wilder.

 

You make a fair point, but regardless of why the fight didn't happen, the fact remains that Joshua never faced Wilder. It was Fury who shattered the myth of Wilder's invincibility, and that's what matters here. Moreover, given Joshua's inconsistent form in splitting the pair with Ruiz Jr. and what came after, we can't be sure he would have exposed Wilder in the same way --- in fact, it's just as likely, in my opinion, that Wilder might have exposed Joshua instead.

 

If he wins, he clearly isn't shot is he

 

Maybe so, but the Wilder fights are clearly no longer the legacy fights Fury fans once thought they were given subsequent developments which is a tough break legacy wise as so much of Fury's reputation is based on that trilogy.

 

I don't think any win at heavyweight would be an impressive win for Usyk since the top fighters refuse to fight each other and their reputations are based on guesswork.
In an alternative universe where Usyk fought a prime Fury who beat
Wilder
Joshua
Bakole
Zhang
Parker
Kabayel
That would be a huge win for Usyk but of course that didn't happen.

He should get credit for cleaning out cruiserweight though

 

That hit the bullseye.

 

It's been said above but I'll repeat it: Fury is shot and Usyk is past his peak. Just look at earlier fights of both guys FFS.
Usyk's footwork has slowed down. He used to dance around like a Cossack after a feast. Is it the 20 extra pounds? Well
I think it's the 4 extra years on him.

Fury has also slowed down. Especially his punches. Even his feinting is slower.

My 2 Cents here is that the rematch will be a brawl, unlike the first one. First, know they know each other. Second, they've slowed down.
I see Usyk pounding Fury's ugly face and the fight will be like the 9th round of the first match, only repeated for 3 or 4 rounds until Fury's corner stops the fight.

Then Usyk needs to retire. The younger guys like Dubois, Parker, will most likely defeat him now.