Bellew believes Usyk would’ve beaten Tyson

Bellew is one of the most biased sycophants out there. I wouldn't take anything he says seriously.

 

Its not impossible. Usyk has a chance.

That being said, i am amazed by the comparison between Gassiev and Tyson. Gassiev is nowhere near as quick footed or fast handed as Tyson. Staying away from Gassiev is a much much easier task than staying away from Tyson.

 

I like Usyk but no, no he doesn’t beat Tyson. He can beat guys “greater” than Tyson but really it’s just not in the cards IMO. I think Usyk whoops Holyfield and would be great odds for Lennox but Tyson gets him out of there fast.

 

I'm sure Holmes thought he could stay away with his jab too, it's the going from staying away to clinching part where Tyson sends him into retirement

 

What the ****? What's with all the extremely tentative or confident pro Mike responses? If Buster Douglas and Holyfield could do it, why wouldn't Usyk be able to do it?

Furthermore, prime Mike couldn't get Tony Thompson out of there but we're certain he's taking out Usyk?

Usyk would be by far the best conditioned fighter Tyson ever faced, with by far the highest punch volume, whilst also having by far the best footwork, whilst also being by far the best pure boxer.

This in addition to being one of the tallest fighters prime Tyson would fight (and definitely the best "tall fighter"), having one of the best chins out of any Tyson opponent, whilst being a southpaw and whilst not being scared of Tyson at all.

That and to the person directly above me that said Usyk would clinch and then get knocked out, Tyson was absolute dog **** in the clinch. Usyk out clinched and outmanoeuvred people several inches taller and 20 to 40lbs heavier than himself whilst Tyson would just give up against people that had zero physical advantages over him.

Usyk presents Tyson with a lot more challenges than the reverse imo. That and Tyson was upset once in his prime by a fighter nowhere near as good as him and once in his post prime by the older and even more out of prime Holyfield, whereas Usyk is undefeated. The benefit of the doubt should be given to Usyk no? Yet we think Tyson knocks him out quickly? So we think prime Usyk does worse against prime Mike than Buster Douglas?

 

- I certainly do not count Usyk out but here are a few issues:

- Douglas had an 83 inch reach compared to 78 inches for Usyk. That is a giant difference at that level. Douglas's jab was so long and powerful that it made it very hard for Tyson to close the distance.

- Douglas was a excellent combination puncher who was repeatedly throwing full power uppercuts vs Tyson from early on in the fight. Usyk does not throw uppercuts until much later in the fight and whenever he has faced a short pressure fighter (i.e. Chisora, Beterbiev etc.), he does not like to risk the uppercut. Chisora was open to the uppercut with the way he was rushing in and yet Usyk was not willing to risk it.

The uppercut is an inherently risky punch and Douglas was willing to throw it over and over again. Usyk does not throw it early in the fight and rarely throws it at all so Tyson will not have the same trouble with Usyk that he did with Douglas.

- Tony Tucker fought a survival mode fight. After the first 2 rounds, he gave up and fought to survive. The reason people think Usyk gets stopped is because unlike Tucker, we think he actually will try to win the fight and not just fight to survive.

I don't think Tyson can physically bully Usyk. But Tyson has faster hands than Usyk and Tyson possesses a great right uppercut which Usyk has been caught with. Tyson also has a great straight right hand which Usyk is quite open to because of his southpaw stance. Not to mention the left hook.

Usyk may not be scared but he has never faced a fighter who has the punching variety that Tyson has- great right hand, great left hook, magnificent right uppercut, good left uppercut, great right hook to the body, fast 5-6 punch combinations with speed and power to spare, fast head movement, coming in underneath. I think Tyson is stylistically a nightmare for Usyk.

 

Whilst I would consider making Usyk a slight favourite I wish Bellew wouldn't say things with such absolute certainty.

Not to mention that his significant bias towards Joshua will likely ensure he rates Usyk as highly as possible to make him look good.

 

Could Usyk beat the Baer brothers?

 

No that tap tap style would not work on warrior professionals like Max and Buddy Baer…

 

I think it largely depends if Usyk can hurt Mike which I think he might surprise a lot of folk. I think people underestimate the strength and power of today's fighters. If he can hurt Mike and get his respect I can only see a Usyk win, if not, Tyson could steamroll him.

There's one fighter who I have in my mind who I think may have been his Kryptonite, Joe Frazier, I think he would give him nightmares.

 

He probably would have. Durable cruisers with good jabs are not a fun time for Tyson.

 

If we are talking peak Tyson - pre Douglas and Holyfield losses - so maybe 86-88, then Uysk gets obliterated. Prime Tyson is a bad match up stylistically and will overwhelm him quickly. Uysk is quick but not quick enough to avoid him and doesn't have the one-shot power to discourage Tyson.
Uysk versus later, degraded versions of Tyson would be closer matches.

Uysk is a great fighter in a very poor Heavyweight era. Not his fault but it makes it a lot harder to see him beat most of the Heavyweight ATG's in their primes. We simply have no evidence he can beat that level of ability - although he would be competitive and I can see most of his losses being on points, not via stoppage. Uysk certainly seems tough enough.

 

He wouldn't.

 

I disagree with Mr. Bellew