PRIME Joe Louis vs PRIME Usyk (15 rounds)

Well let’s break it down. Joe Louis is faster, has the better stamina. Chins seem
Equal all things considered. Usyk better footwork is a southpaw. Usyks a mover not a runner…I have a hard time believing Louis doesn’t beat him to the punch with much better speed and power. There is a chance Usyk put points him but Usyk never fought anyone like that. AJ may be the closest example of a guy like that but Louis is much better than AJ in all the right areas. Gun to head Louis.

 

Joe Louis will always rank higher and could “ potentially “ win. But if I’m honest I really don’t like this fight for him. Oleksandr Usyk is extremely well rounded and encompasses a fine combination of the attributes that Joe Louis’ best opponents possessed individually. While he’s never fought in a fifteen round fight, Usyk is a highly disciplined professional who if he had to train for that distance he both could and would. Throw in the factor of Louis never facing a southpaw or at least one of this caliber and it spells “ bad medicine “ .

 

Louis is to slow on his feet. He gets out boxed.

Uzyk Ko's him because Louis will get caught at some point. Louis will go out on his shield because he is not a runner.

 

Lol, Louis is not faster than Usyk weather it be hand speed or foot speed. I'm not so sure about the stamina thing either as Uysk has always been the fresher fighter in the 12th (see the first Joshua fight) and he is far more mobile and active than Louis. Louis for the most part, was very minimal with his movement which made sense because he was a brutal counterpuncher and would capitalize on an opponents mistake. Not sure how you can say the chins are equal. Uysk has never been knocked out and he has fought way better punchers.

With that said, I'm actually huge Louis fan and where Louis does hold an advantage imo is his impeccable timing. Louis was at his best as counterpuncher and he had an uncanny ability to catch guys with brutal counter shots. Unfortunately for him, Uysk doesn't leave himself open for much.

 

Louis is a lot faster than Usyk…it’s not close. Usyks feet are faster (his style) but hands not even close. Usyk is great at pacing himself. But he does take rounds off. AJ who is similar to Louis in style gave him enough trouble for me to assume Louis will give him more trouble. That being said I have no problem w anyone picking Usyk. He’s an amazing fighter. I’m just strictly going by the AJ fights which were competitive. Louis is a lot better than AJ in every way. Just my opinion

 

Just on the question of hand speed, I agree that Louis was def. faster - lightning fast in fact.

Usyk is fast, very fast and his work rate consistently advertises his hand speed - but boy, when Louis let those hands go in combination - they were a blur whilst delivering textbook, fully laden power shots.

Joe also varied his hand speed somewhat - very intelligent to do so in terms of keeping his opponent guessing and trying to time and anticipate Joe’s punches.

 

Given that Louis didn't like movers and we don't know how his defense would hold up vs southpaws, i have no problem with people picking Usyk.

However, let's not dismiss Joe here. Louis throws a faster right hand that anything Usyk has faced at either cruiser or heavy. Louis is a way better combination puncher than anything Usyk has faced. Louis has all three punches that work well vs left handers: a great straight right hand, a great right uppercut and a terrific left hook.

Louis also has the quicker hands for me.

My reluctance to pick Louis in this match up stems from a couple of factors. First, Louis's defense could be slightly leaky early which could cause issues vs a southpaw whose punches are hard to read. Second, Louis could be at times overly patient vs a guy who was boxing well since he trained for 15 round fights.

In a 12 round fight, i would probably favour Usyk but i am not counting Joe out. He has quicker hands, hits harder and is a better combination puncher.

 

I'm sorry but in no way does Louis have faster hands than Uysk. There are tons of videos on YouTube showing both of them. The comment about pacing doesn't make sense either when you watching both. Uysk is always feighting or moving laterally will Joe was typically stalking/looking to counter. The problem with evaluating Louis is that he is so far superior to everyone in his era, it's tough to see the truth. Regarding Joshua, Louis and Joshua are very different. For one, Louis was 6'2 and just over 200 pounds vs Joshua who is a fit 250 and 6'6. Stylewise, Louis was usually stalking and waiting on an opponent to make a mistake, Joshua throws a ton of jabs and is always looking to land that right hand. Also, is Joe just going to magically be able to deal with Uysk style? He never fought anyone like him because they simply didn't exist in his era. It's ok to still think Joe was great. He truly was and history will always remember him as a dominant champion but the sport has changed like everything else.

 

Louis wins this.

 

If one had to choose between Usyk’s CW record or his HW record, just one or the other, I wonder which resume they would select as best upholding Usyk’s viability against past HW greats?

 

I love Joe Louis but I think Usyk could outbox him. 55/45 for Ukrainian.

 

Stop being silly. Louis’s hands were much faster than Usyk’s.

Coming from someone who thinks Usyk wins.

 

Sorry, but I disagree. That's not a knock on Louis, Uysk is just faster.

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This is an example of how brilliant Joe was. It wasn't hand speed, it was timing, counterpunching and precision punching that set him apart from everyone in his era. He excelled at creating openings and closing the show. Phenomenal fighter.

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Love Louis but Usyk would out box him