who gets more of a pass .. Fury v Ngannou or Usyk v Verhoeven?

Which is the more egregious slap in the face for boxing, in your view? Fury against Ngannou or Usyk against Verhoeven? I probably slightly lean toward Usyk getting more of a pass due to his previous good work. Fury also had undisputed still to clear up, and appeared to be avoiding his biggest rival, in Usyk. But both are grim - and deserve to be criticized

 

Both are buisness decisions that are heavily dictated by when the Saudi money becomes available....they are all gunning up for later summer but both are getting paid a little side change for activity bouts which they both want. Only idiots complain about the opponents....if this was 8 years ago they just wouldn't have fought and sat around till the summer.

As such Usyk can't fight any top contendors right now even if he wanted to...and Fury Francis was a spur of the moment opportunity, we had to wait 12 months for the money to come through for that first Fury Usyk bout which left everyone frustrated which is when Fury fought Francis..

 

Obviously Usyk - Verhoeven, for one reason only but more than enough, that is that there is a world title at stake, at least in the match between Fury and Ngannou the world title was not at stake.

 

Both deserve criticism.

Unless Usyk turns up a fat slob and embarrasses himself and the sport, it won't be close...

Olek shouldn't get a pass, but it's not like he's taking it whilst one of the biggest fights of his career is sitting there begging - Fury was hiding from Usyk and the undisputed fight, wasting his own time and making the division stagnant in the process... Whilst Usyk is clearly the only champ worth talking about, and there are potential challenges for him, it's not like those fights have the potential to bring an era to a central moment, nor are they fights that would've troubled him at all at his best.


There are reasons Fury gets so much more criticism for Ngannou than AJ does - one trained and won clearly and definitively, the other binged on kebabs and cider and got knocked down like a sack of ****.

It's not that Usyk taking this is good - it's just that Fury rubbed salt in the wound.

 

Not sure I necessarily agree - Fury refusing to put the belt at stake showed disrespect for his opponent, which he compounded by turning up in poor shape (not for the first time).

It wasn't contractually an exhibition - Fury just decided to treat it as one.

And, IMHO, every time one of these circus bouts happens, the reputation of the sport is at stake - and that's bigger than any belt... And Fury showed disrespect to the sport and his opponent.

 

Neither should get a pass. Elite level boxers - especially reigning world champions - should never be fighting non-boxers.

 

Neither deserve any sort of pass, despite what any fanboys might claim. Both are pointless garbage fights.

 

I would have gladly done without both fights, for obvious reasons. But in one of the two fights the world title is on the line, in the other, it isn't. This is objective and makes me consider Usyk - Verhoeven even worse than Fury - Ngannou.

 

Even though I am furious at the Usyk Rick match up, at least it happened after we got an undisputed champ.

Fury was worse because he shows up in poor shape and embarrassed boxing and he also delayed the unification fight.

 

Usyk is age 39.

Fury ducked Usyk for a year and a half when "Belly" was age 33 and 34, fighting Chisora and nearly a year later, Ngannou.

Ali fought a wrestler when he was champ, so people shouldn't be too hard on Usyk.

However, I'm a bit disappointed in Usyk, not because he's fighting the kickboxer, but because he could have fought him in December/January and then fight Kabayel in late May or June. Or, Usyk could have scheduled a fight with Parker/Wardley or Kabayel in December 2025/January 2026, and then fought the kickboxer in late May or June.

It's the "one fight per year" that disappoints me.

 

I never even heard of Verhoeven.
Why didn’t Usyk choose Pereira instead? At least he’s a more well known kickboxer

 

I completely understand your frustration, but I think we should stop bringing Ali into this.

Ali fought a Japanese wrestler in an exhibition in Tokyo. This is an official bout on Usyk's record for the WBC world title. Inoki could kick Ali as it was mixed rule set. Usyk is fighting a kick-boxer under boxing rules, rendering the whole thing pointless. 39 is old, but a 39-year-old Wlad managed to fight twice a year, dealing with everyone, one and a time. Everyone got their chance. Usyk has nowhere near the miles on the clock Ali had either. Ali was an extremely active champion before and after the fight, so it had zero impact on the division and boxing itself. There is a 10 month gap between Usyk v Dubois. Usyk is extremely inactive for someone holding 3 (sometimes 4) titles.

Which brings us to Fury.
Fury had one title. He had no obligation to fight Usyk, but we shouldn't forget Fury v Usyk was official and signed before the Ngannou fight took place. I find it doubtful Usyk will give Kabayel the same consideration. Finally, as much as both Fury v Ngannou was a farce, Ngannou actually had some characteristics to trouble Fury, making the freak-show appealing for a casual audience: his size, his power, his chin. Even so, Fury's performance embarrassed himself as well as the sport. That is not forgotten.

Verhoeven...
I think Chris Algieri (former WBO champ and two-weight kickboxing champ) explains, better than I can here, exactly why Usyk does not get a pass on this fight:

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Ali defended 11 times in 4 years. After beating Foreman in late 1974, he defended 11 times in under 4 years, with the 11th being an unsuccessful defence vs Spinks.

Usyk has been champ for 4.5 years and has defended 5 times.

Ali can fight a wrestler because he actually bothered to stay active

 

Usyk and Fury are as bad as each other tbh,Fury was a Belt/Title holder when he had his cross over fight and Usyk is a multiple Belt/Title holder when he has his cross over fight,so both by there own actions held up the Heavyweight Division. As for money forcing them into these situations complete BS ! These top level fighters get paid more for one fight than a working man gets paid working his whole Life Time !! TBF to Joshua when he had his cross over fight he was basically without a Belt or Title,in no man’s land,between fights and picked the low hanging Golden Fruit from the tree,this imo is when a cross over fight should happen !