Is Usyk a top 10 HW of all time...?

I thought Fury's work in the first 2/3rds of the first Usyk fight was a work of art and it gets forgotten that he blew it, just barely.

 

This one was under pro rules:

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In light of these IBA fights, particularly the Hunter-Suslenkov situation, I am lobbying that alternative pro fights be counted somehow. They don't have to go in the numbers, but when the record is announced, just say..."and 6-0 in WSB fights!"

Just some kind of acknowledgment and parenthetical credit to make sense of it all.

 

I guess Fury probably had the best 3 or 4 round stretch against Usyk but nobody pushed Usyk to the absolute limit as much as Briedis did. Don't forget Fury almost got KTFO and was arguably saved by a ref there. It just can't be ignored that it was actually a little 6'1 cruiserweight that did the best against Usyk which is such a glaring flaw in the argument that this generation of super sized heavyweights is any better than any else that came before it. I mean this wasn't even peak Usyk he's in his late 30's and doing this to these guys and they couldn't hit and hurt him anywhere as much as a little 6'1 guy could.

 

Same **** different day lol

No doubt it's everyone else tho, not him

 

Well, I think it is fair, because Foreman have had 10 years long break and as a big puncher finished fights quick. Usyk went through a lot of wars and did not have break between 28 and 38 years old + 350 amateur fights.

 

If he drops to minimumweight then becomes undisputed at every weight on the way back up to heavyweight, beats king Kong, godzilla and the Red Army on the way, brings about world peace and finds a cure for cancer and defends his titles ten times at age 74, then, and only then, might I concede he's an ATG...but only if he is dominant in doing so....

 

He is the best ever, the undisputed world champion, undefeated in the cruiserweight and heavyweight division...

 

I don't think he's a top 10 ATG at HW. I think the top 10 greatest list is pretty much impenetrable at this point. (Unless 5 other ATG skill sets pop up and war with each other, and that ain't gonna happen). Him not being top 10 isn't his fault, it's the fault of his peers which are overall subpar from a generational standpoint.

He's top 2 at CW (it's either him or Evander)

I actually think he ranks higher from a p4p ATG standpoint than he does at HW.

 

Tyson's Era is 85-91 before he went to prison.

Just because Ali managed to dominate after his 3 years means nothing as Ali is Ali

 

Evander Holyfield was around from 88 onwards and Tyson didn't beat him.
Riddick Bowe was also around and again Tyson never beat him.

 

It isn't fair to say that the top 5 is impenetrable, imo.
If the world of sports can bring the same prestige to the Heavyweight Championship as it did before, then it could be the 70s all over again. So it is likely, just not in our lifetime I think.

But hey, the smaller guys atleast still are in the conversation for ATGs

 

You don't know your history.
Holyfield vs Tyson was supposed to happen. Then Tyson got knocked out.
Holyfield vs Tyson was supposed to happen again. Then Tyson got injured in sparring
Holyfied vs Tyson was gonna happen a third time. Then Tyson went to jail.

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Tyson after Ruddock goes " I want Holyfield"

 

I think he is top 15 in HW and top 3 in cruiser.
The current HW era is very interesting, but I don't think it's the highest level. He is balanced, but there are no great boxers. Is Fury there? Can you imagine an old wrestler coming to prime Larry Holmes or Mike Tyson and taking them to the ground in his boxing debut? Usyk did a little better than Ngannou, but that's no exaggeration... it's a abyss. AJ is very good but not great, and again Usyk beats him marginally - marginally. And you may wonder if AJ is the same player who fought for his life with 41-year-old Wlad, returning after a 2-year break. In my opinion, he was worse against Usyk because he was too cautious at times. I'm not sure if AJ Usyk would have beaten that guy. If we put Usyk in the top 5, we also have to put AJ and Fury close to them, and Chisore not too far behind. And in a moment there will be no place in the top 20 for Norton, Frazier, Bowe, Ike, Moorer,