How is Usyk still the top HW at 38 when Ali was completely done at 38

Fighters age differently.

Uysk also gets hit a lot less than Ali who was getting hit too often in the 70s. Uysk also took care of his body better.

 

This … Ali should have walked away after Manila but he had too many hawgs feeding at his trough.

 

Jesus Christ.

Big difference between a guy who was fighting Sonny Liston at 22 years old and a guy who was fighting in the amateurs at the same age.

Also big difference between a guy with 24 pro fights over the course of 10 year pro career. Let's see how well Usyk would have done if he was fighting average of 4 times a year.

Ah Jesus this place has become pretty unbearable. What we just witnessed was a completely unnecessary fight. Dubois lost every round 2 years ago vs Usyk and by no means should have been granted a rematch over someone like Parker. And yet the entire forum is going crazy because Usyk demolished a highly limited fighter who should not have been in the ring with him in the first place.

Lets see these modern fighters fighting 4 times a year and then let's see how well they age by 38.

 

Why could George Foreman give a rough fight to Briggs at age 49? How could Larry Holmes box Butterbean's face off at age 52, and still look surprisingly capable? How could Foreman have had 81 fights, and still speak clearly and seem 100% mentally there right until the end of his life, meanwhile Riddick Bowe only had 45 fights yet was slurring before his career was even over?

Some guys just age differently in terms of fighting and taking shots to the head. Ali aged badly, which was very much not helped by his genetic issue (Parkinsons) coming on early.

Also, Ali was real active.

 

Dubois's biggest strengths are his power and physicality. He's poised to age well, assuming he doesn't have a susceptibility to CTE.

 

While I agree the Dubois fight should not have happened (should have been Parker) I will give Dubious some credit. His last three fights were great results against three highly rated opponents, and a lot of people were commenting on how he looked like a reinvented fighter. So there was a basis for the rematch, at least.

 

Sure. It wasn't 100% unwarranted.

But you don't get to pull out of a fight and then directly walk your way into a title shot. Even if Dubois was legitimately ill vs Parker, Parker should have gotten the shot. Dubois should have been made to wait for the winner of that fight. Dubois did enough to earn a shot but not above a guy whom he pulled out of fighting.

Usyk simply took the higher paycheck fight. I am not saying he is ducking Parker. I don't think he is scared of Parker. I think he beats Parker albeit competitively. But he took a higher paycheck fight vs a guy whom he already knows has technical weaknesses he can exploit. Not exactly the markings of the greatest heavyweight of all time.

 

There really needs to be a reliable test for early onset CTE, a way to scan fighters after each fight and let them know "you need to stop" if signs are shown. Now, I'm not going to tell a man what he can or can't do, so if he wants to keep going after being given the information and a consultation with a doctor, ok, bad idea but have at it. But I wish these guys could know.

 

The Dubois-Parker fight should have been rescheduled. As I've said, after watching Dubois's non performance against Usyk, I think Parker would have beaten him, and our undisputed fight would have been with Usyk and Parker. Usyk would have won, but still. Parker deserved the chance.

 

Wlad had a decent amateur career and 69 fights and was still fighting pretty well at 38.

 

Usyk was in hundreds more amateur fights than Ali.