Max Kellerman says Usyk is a historically overrated heavyweight, do you agree?

I never said bigger = higher quality but it certainly often comes with increased risk. Some smaller guys are better than bigger guys but size is obviously a huge factor in boxing. Hence why we have weight divisions All these HWs Usyk has fought are way bigger than him and they are all big or huge punchers vs men their own size or bigger

Belly would be considered the lightest puncher Usyk has fought out of all the world level HWs Usyk's fought but even he is a big puncher when he wants to be and obviously power is magnified when you're fighting someone much smaller than you and his sheer size and length alone pose serious problems for a much smaller fighter to overcome, even just closing the distance, getting past that jab, and trying to avoid getting caught by his counters whilst doing so is a real difficult task

This notion that Usyk has a tougher time with fighters his own size doesn't really hold up and it's just another excuse to try and discredit him and for people to try and rationalize to themselves that surely there has to be a reason why he's been as successful as he has as opposed to the obvious answer and truth being he really is just that good (not implying this is the case with you). He hasn't lost a fight since 2009, should be 2008 because he was clearly robbed in his 2 last defeats IMO, and whilst the excellent Briedis did give him his genuine toughest fight Usyk schooled Gassiev, Glowacki, and Huck, lost a few rounds vs Bellew, Hunter and Mchunu but like Loma he would often start off slower, download data, and then pick it up after 4 rounds or later and takeover after going to another level and he lost a few rounds to everyone he fought at HW too sans Witherspoon

Also, many keep ignoring the fact he's a versatile fighter who can fight in a number of different styles and the different game plans he has employed vs different opponents.

He did not box Briedis like he did Gassiev or Glowacki

He did not box Belly like he boxed AJ

He did not box Dubois like he boxed Belly or AJ

He might box similar sometimes but not exactly the same

He may well have had a tougher time with those guys you mentioned but he can also box in a number of different ways so it would depend on the tactics he chose to employ. If he wants to be elusive and make things easier for himself he can do that as well as any big man who has ever stepped foot in a ring. Hell, he can do it as well as defensively great little men can. Usyk is a very complete fighter which no real weaknesses

He is extremely athletic
Amazing skills
Physically strong
Fast feet and hands (especially more so in his prime)
He has a iron chin
He can punch
High ring IQ
He has a crazy engine
He's as mentally strong as any fighter I've seen

He's extremely strong or strong in all departments and even his power is underrated


Tony Bellew


''One hundred percent,” he said, reflecting on that mental fatigue. “The thing that will send Fury off and he won’t understand is the judgment of distance that Oleksandr Usyk has. This is what got me. I was absolutely exhausted after seven rounds. I have never been that tired in my whole entire life. Me and AJ [Anthony Joshua] were talking about it recently, and he also said he’s never been as tired as he was after those fights in his life. And it’s like Usyk wasn’t even blowing. And that’s how you are. He’s made you tired.

“He’s the one who exhausts you to the brink when you can barely breathe. And when I look back at it now, it’s purely his judgment of distance and his feet remain so close to you. It sounds like such a little thing: His front foot is never more than four to five inches away from you, but you think he’s in range and he’s actually not. He’s in and out and in and out, but you feel like he’s constantly there and it’s so mentally taxing, it’s unbelievable. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is when someone’s doing it and controlling it.”

“I have no idea what happens [in the rematch]. Because I thought Usyk would win the first time, but I never in a million years anticipated he'd win the way he won. I never thought he could push him back like that.

“Do I think he can do it in the rematch? If he chooses to push him back again in the rematch, he won't catch him by surprise because he 100% took Tyson Fury by surprise. This time he won't be able to do that.”

Fury has been vocal about how he plans to switch things up for the rematch. He believes that he cannot rely on the judges and that he must press for a knockout. Bellew thinks that if what Fury says is true, then the fight only ends in one way.


“I do believe if [Usyk] goes on the back foot, he wins every single round,” said Bellew. “He's the hardest man in the world to hit. If you let Oleksandr Usyk go on the back foot and you press him all night, you're in trouble, you're not going to catch him.


“Just watch the Murat Gassiev fight,” said Bellew, citing Usyk’s virtual shutout victory over the feared power-punching Gassiev, who struggled to land anything of consequence, “and you'll understand that's why I chose to box him. Chasing him is the worst thing in the world you could do.”

 

Good analogy

Yes, the thing is if people or clowns like Kellerman were being fair or trying to be they would cite that context but they don't

Yeah I know you're Team Usyk and we are glad to have you among our ranks