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

A split decision where one judge was objectively wrong by every standard and punch stats were based on compubox which is known to be inaccurate af which is why we now have Jabbr which is way better. But sure keep finding ways to discredit Usyk for whatever reason

 

*top 5

 

He has had close calls because of bad judging.

As for depth, he doesn't need it. Because he aggressively pursues the best fights, even taking lowball money and going to the other guy's hometown, he did in 6 fights what guys like Wladimir Klitschkoand Larry Holmes never did in 17-20 defenses. THAT is greatness.

 

Agree to differ man. AJ just got smashed by a heavy handed come forward fighter with a heavy jab. Its really interesting the way people look at things differently isn't it. For me, Smith is leagues above Whyte and in a different world than Breazale. Whyte is a very, very overrated fighter. Fun for sure, but never true world level. Bonecrusher would walk throigh him and stop him second half of a fun fight.

Smith's attributes are all wrong for AJ. He'd take Joshua's shots and remorselessely walk him down and he hit hard. Sure he had losses against lesser fighters and I'd agree that AJ is a much BETTER boxer than him, I'd be a fool not too...but for me Smith on his best nights batters AJ. His fought well against a good version of Holmes, smashed Weaver twice, sparked Witherspoon in their rematch, went 12 boring rounds against Tyson and really shook him in the end. He has always reminded me of one of the Joe Louis era heavyweights, have gumshield, will travel kinda guy. He was badly managed, probably fought more than he should have and struggled with his mental health, but on his night, he was a hard night's work for anyone. And I genuinely think he'd walk through AJ if they fought before Ruiz, after Ruiz AJ is likely very cautious and puts in a Parker/Ruiz 2 snoozefest, that I'd grant you. Intersting chat man, thanks for your insightful opinions as always

 

Hey man, as I said, agree to disagree. I hear your points but really believe a motivated 'best' Smith beats AJ, as does Bruno...and Witherspoon. Smith had a big dig and a great chin. Witherspoon might have been disinterested but Smith jumped him and sparked him. Think he sparked Weaver as well? Did well against Holmes as well. You don't agree and thats cool man, it really is. Have a wonderful evening, peace and love, gbn x

 

somewhere in the 24-18 range

 

It is really not subjective. There are tangible things that boxing matches are judged on, and there is not case to be made for Joshua to have won their second fight, or Fury their first. There was judge one biased judge in each case. If is subjective if rounds are split in terms of categories won...no such thing happened in either fight in enough rounds for the other guy to have won.

You are right that Wladdy had no signature win, and I will leave it at that.

Holmes' wins all have context. Norton was a couple of months shy of 35 and had already had some brutal losses. Witherspoon, was 12 fights into his career. Mercer, Weaver, Cooney...history has not been kind to their legacies. Holmes spent his career avoiding unifications and #1 contenders in the same say that Usyk has sought them out.

 

Larry did not beat a prime Norton. He got almost beaten by an over the hill Norton. And when you expand it to top ten wins, Usyk fades away from the Wlad and Larry.

 

Usyk is number one at Cruiserweight. Holyfield fought when CW was a new division and had one decent opponent, while Usyk fought a challenging list of dangerous fighters on the road. This is indisputable and only a Holyfield fan without objectivity would deny Usyk this accolade.

His HW ranking is much harder to analyse due to Usyk's opposition and their perceived capabilities. He hasn't dominate, but he hasn't needed to, and he is smaller than his opponents and therefore less likely to win by KO.

I can't place him accurately.

 

Uayk's best heavyweight win is 25 year old Daniel Dubois, mainly because Dubois has shown excellent form in his next 3 fights after that loss. Also, because it was a knock-out rather than a close-ish decision.

Fury is a skillful large heavyweight but his conditioning and his form leading into the Usyk fights discredits him. He's an 36 year old slob of a fighter, fat as a pig and struggling to defeat the likes of Francis Ngannou. There's nothing great in beating a boxer who can barely beat a 37 year old MMA fighter.

Joshua was okay but in two fights Usyk didn't stop him or even knock him down. I can't imagine many great heavyweights in any era failing to knock Joshua out.

 

How do you rank Mike Tyson at HW? He was by almost every metric smaller than Usyk.