Next (maybe last?) for Usyk...

At least McGregor was a champion in his own right, even if it was MMA. Even then I don't recall Floyd being undisputed at the time.

Using Floyd as an example is interesting though, because he didn't pretend he was doing anything other than chasing the easiest money available.

I sincerely hope the money was worth it to Tyson then.

 

Fair comment, but the Wilder reference was more about Champions not facing mandatories, and instead using contracts, rematches, orgs, etc. to block certain guys and choose others.

For me, Dubois was the soft touch. I didn't bother with that PPV (as I'd already seen the first fight), though I'm sure many enjoyed watching Usyk dominate a guy he'd already dominated a few fights earlier. Usyk shouldn't need another soft-touch back-to-back.

 

I don't see how they can. Usyk became WBO champion nearly 4 years ago. The mandatory challenger was established nearly 3 years ago. Joyce > Zhang > Parker. They already allowed him two voluntaries (Joshua II and Fury II), and two unification bouts (Fury I and Dubois II*).

Usyk literally got his shot at the titles initially because he wouldn't be flexible and the WBO had to enforce his mandatory shot. Now that he is on top, it very much seems like he doesn't want to give other fighters that same opportunity

 

I agree with you but in a normal boxing world his career is basicly impossible anyway .

Avoiding any wbo title defence without being stripped for 4 years and going straight into an undisputed ?

Being two times hw undisputed with a total of 5 hw opponents at hw ???

I would not be surprized if after some secret negotations the WBO goes silent again , we will see

 

I was speaking with a Ukrainian friend the other day and she mentioned that Usyk fighting is one of the few times a year that the world's eyes are on Ukraine. I suspect that's why his team wants to fight Jake Paul or Fury because those fights will draw the most headlines to the war in his country (every time he fights I'm told huge donations get made).

As a purist I'm really only interested in the Kabayel fight, but if Usyk doesn't defend his mandatory, I hope he starts dropping belts.

 

In a perfect world:

Schedule Jake Paul and Parker same night.
He can eradicate Jake, then trot out Parker. 90/10 beats Parker then schedules a fight with Agit.
Should be a 70 to 30 favorite to win. Win

Then ride off into the sunset…..



keep in shape make a Vitaly like come back after 2 years out right into a title fight ( champion emeritus was it ? ) with the now undisputed Moses ….. should still be a 60/40 favorite…….win
Retire for good as a top 5……..ish

 

Hmm....

Whilst there's some truth in this, it's still the case that Dubois was one of the two (alongside Parker) way more deserving than the rest of the division - and in theory it could've been interesting in the sense that Dubois should now be prime whilst Usyk should've been (and realistically is) a little declined since the first bout two years ago.

Plus it gets rid of any narrative that Usyks running scared of Dubois and his bodyshots (read: low blows) and even the claims Dubois should've won first time have been put to bed by how badly he got dominated in the rematch.

I get it, but for me it's not a soft touch - more interesting bouts were available (Parker being the other deserving one, and Kabayel the current posterchild for excessive hype in the heavyweight division).


Either way, I'm with you in not wanting to see him waste his remaining bouts on shot myths like Wilder or stupid bouts with irrelevant guys.

 

Why not an exhibition with Wlad, if it's all about the show?

It should really be Parker... Kabayel might be interesting, but probably wouldn't be... Anything else is a disappointment.

 

This.

Parker, Kabayel or retire IMO.

I will understand anything else due to money / Ukraine / Turki etc but it won't mean I have to like it.

 

We forget to see the obvious : usyk clearly avoids any opponent who might be dangerous for him , where he has a real risk to loose the fight .

I understand him somehow , he needs to be a hero for his war torn country . And the last thing ukrainians want to see is their hero loosing .

He will not even fight shot wilder , let alone kabayel . While the yield of wilder,s right hand is mostly gone there is a scenario hungry wilder pulls it out with a lucky punch .

 

You are having a giraffe mate?

Usyk clearly takes on all comers and in their own backyards no less!

 

I guess this just goes to show that it's inevitable that no matter what's proven in the ring, there will ALWAYS be someone who puts out the accusation that there's ducking going on.

It doesn't matter that Usyk fought the biggest/best puncher at CW in Gassiev, or the best overall in Briedis... It doesn't matter that he fought probably the biggest and most capable puncher at HW in Joshua, or the biggest and probably best points fighter in Fury.

It doesn't matter that he's fought the two that were head, shoulders and even tits above the rest of the division... And then one of the two that sit a good step below, but miles above the rest...

Why the hell would he fight shot Wilder? He was barely a contender in his prime, and he's nowhere near his own dubious best now...

And Kabayel has two good wins, better than anything Wilder has (Chisora and Zhang) but the rest of his resume is so awful even Wilder would be embarrassed by it.
He may or may not be dangerous, but he's not bringing legacy as things stand.