Oleksandr Usyk vs prime Joe Frazier

If you look at the Ali Manila fight, Ali threw 917 in 14 rounds, Frazier 678.

https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Muhammad_Ali_vs._Joe_Frazier_(3rd_meeting)

Usyk against Hunter threw 905 in 12 rounds, an even higher rate than Ali per round.

https://www.*******.com/aleksandr-usyk-vs-michael-hunter-compubox-punch-stats--115458

I don't see Frazier outworking Usyk.

Seems to me Usyk is the swarmer here.

 

It's not about Frazier throwing more punches than Usyk it's the fact he doesn't slow down late in fights he's consistently coming forward throwing hard shots especially to the body.

The Heavyweights Usyk have fought don't have the cardio levels to live with him in the 2nd half of the fight because they're simply too big. It's not a coincidence the fighter who gave Usyk his toughest fight was Cruiserweight Briedis which means size isn't everything.

 

Well yeah, Usyk is even busier late in fights ...

The cruisers that Usyk fought didn't have the cardio to live with him either. But more importantly his boxing nous is superior to simply physical stats and that is the deciding factor I reckon.

 

I don't think Usyk has ever fought a very hard hitting swarmer that would be constantly on him for the entire duration of the fight and has the cardio levels to live with him in the 2nd half of the fight

Frazier is a level above any of Usyk's Cruiserweight opponents and stylistically he's arguably one of the most troubling opponents Usyk could fight at Heavyweight.

Styles make fights an elite swarmer is always a tough style match up for a boxer unless he has stand out power to stop the swarmer coming forward which I don't think Usyk has.

 

Frazier by late TKO, Usyk would need a blackjack to keep Frazier off him.

 

This Frazier may not be the single hardest hitting Heavyweight of all time but he's consistently punching very hard and has the stamina to keep up that level of consistent power for 15 rounds that's a great asset to have.

And unless you have scary power like Foreman to stop Frazier coming forward then you are in trouble and in for a very long night.

 

Frazier in 3

 

Yeah this isn’t really a good comparison, Usyk throws a lot of pitter patter, both to set up harder shots and to keep opponents befuddled.

Even in the last Fury fight, a lot of his seemingly big shots looked like not much in the slo-mo replays, often barely even connecting.

Frazier will literally eat some of those punches with a giant grin on his face as he marches forward..

Everything Frazier throws is gonna be felt, whether it lands, is blocked, etc..

 

It would be very interesting.

Joe suffocated Ali on the inside. He shut down his time and space.

Did Joe have a suspect engine?

He’d definitely have closed him down somewhat. Because unless you could stop him, he was just relentless like Marciano.

Has Usyk got the power to have stopped him or deterred him from pouring forwards at every opportunity?

It would have been very intriguing.

 

The question I have is, what would it take for Usyk to be favoured? I suspect nothing, people just like Frazier too much to pick against him here.
The reality is that Usyk is like 20lbs heavier, (don’t forget Frazier is softer), Usyk could just time Frazier’s rolling with a feint and a left hand, then when Frazier gets close, just tie him up and hold him, Frazier won’t be able to do anything to separate them, Usyk isn’t gonna just shell up and let Frazier tee off.
Land some punches on the outside, pepper him, time that straight left and time Frazier as he comes back up from the weaving, mix in some straight lefts to the body and when Frazier commits, take a step back and tie him up.

 

You can watch the Ali fights, and then see that this would be easier said than done.

The man was a steam train like Marciano.

Unless you had the power and the style to have stopped him like Foreman, he just kept coming forward relentlessly.

He also had a great will along with great stamina.

Usyk is a boxer with limited power like Ali.

Frazier suffocated Ali on the inside, cutting down his time and space.

It wouldn’t have been easy to have just tried feinting him out of position.

 

Usyk by UD or late TKO.

Frazier is one of the more overrated heavyweights in history. I really did like him as a person and his style was fun to watch. However, he got bounced off the canvas twice by a small HW in Bonavena and he was stopped and never competitive against Foreman. I don't think he had the best punch resistance. I also don't think his ring IQ was the highest. He's not just going to maul Usyk into submission.

I think Mike Tyson is a worse matchup for Usyk, not Joe Frazier.

 

We’ve seen time and again, that technical fighters with limited power, struggle against powerful pressure fighters.

It certainly wouldn’t have been easy for Usyk.

Yes, Tyson would have been a terrible stylistic match up for him.

 

Ali is like 12lbs lighter than Usyk naturally, and even Ali, in the second fight when he was allowed to clinch, beat Frazier comfortably.
Frazier doesn’t have fast feet to catch Usyk by surprise, so he’d get out boxed on the outside, and when he tries to attack, Usyk will see it coming and will be able to clinch him.