Holmes would be a bear but Usyk good size very skilled highly conditioned and very smart might do enough to get a close decision. Similar to Spinks wins except its less on speed and athleticism and more on smarts and skill.
Holmes got KO'd 2Xs at the end of his amateur career by southpaw Nick Wells - Usyk is tough mentally and very clever - I see Usyk winning possibly by tko or KO - Usyk is extraordinarily confusing Southpaw and trickier than Mike Spinks. Usyk is a different level of cunning.
Holmes will "put up a fight"? I hate to be rude or dismissive to a poster but, excuse me, I'm trying to be a gentleman but I can't hold back ..... ROTFLMAO! Holmes would destroy the myth of this guy as a formidable heavyweight. He would outspeed him, jab him silly and leave his face a bloody, grotesque mask. MISMATCH! How good is Usyk? The closest heavy I've seen to Usyk in terms of style and skill? Karl Mildenberger.
I am sorry, when you say something like this, you completely remove yourself from the conversation. Mildenberger did not beat guys with the combination of size and athleticism of Fury and Joshua, and, frankly, neither did Holmes. And to be fair, I am not degrading Holmes at all. Norton, Witherspoon, Shavers, Berbick, Cooney...good fighters. But let's not say things like that, that are absurd and dismissible on their face.
Why are you amazed by this? There are weight classes in boxing for a reason. You can certainly absorb punches better with more weight. I think there is more to it than weight, but it certainly helps.
The law of diminishing returns. The weight classes matter a lot more in the lighter weights. There is a reason why we have a heavyweight division and not a super heavyweight Holmes is far more durable than a Dubois, Joshua, Wlad, Fury, etc despite being smaller. So is Ali, Usyk, etc.
I understand how you wouldn't like my comment, and I agree it's offensive. I'm one of those guys from the old generation who do not see the greatness of Oleksandr Usyk. I could see him being a difficult opponent to solve because through recent advances in sports chemistry he's been able to make himself bigger and stronger than he would otherwise have been. And sure, being a southpaw and knowing something about angles makes him more of a challenge. But I don't see unusual speed of hand or foot, nor do I see impressive power. I see a smart fighter who knows what he can and can't do well and who approaches fights with an intelligent game plan. He's a wiinning fighter, an interesting and scientific boxer. I don't see him as a great talent. I don't see him prevailing against all-time greats like Holmes, Foreman, Lewis or Ali. I think Holyfield outworks him, Liston outjabs and outslugs him.
You don't see his speed because he is 39. You don't see his power because, as a masterful boxer, he rarely use it. But he stopped Dubois, should have stopped Fury, and had Joshua saved by the bell. It is there when he needs it. As for his size, he is 6'3", and because of rehydration, would have walked around well over 200 even as a cruiser. Ironically, other haters have questioned his cruiserweight run, calling him a weight bully. Haters gonna hate. His greatness is absolutely not in question, and, unlike Holmes, I see no scenario in which he's beaten by A LHW. Also unlike Holmes, he likes to prove himself by being undisputed, something Larry never did. Larry took a belt from the gutter, contributing to title proliferation.
If Holmes fought as infrequently as Usyk his overall resume would suffer regardless of who he fought and lots of guys would be missed due to falling in and out of contention so quickly. At Usyks level of activity Holmes reign is probably as follows 1978 beats Norton 1979 beats Weaver 1980 beats Ali 1981 beats Snipes 1982 beats Cooney and Cobb 1983 beats Thomas 1984 beats Smith 1985 loses to Spinks Or something along those lines. It gets even worse if we assume he rematches multiple opponents while only fighting once a year
Fury does not have the fast powerful jab that Holmes did. fury has a solid jab but nowhere near as good as Holmes. Holmes was also knocked down twice in his prime. Fury has been down way more often so there is a durability difference too.
Yeah, Holmes got flatlined by Tyson was and was almost stopped in his prime by two fighters who weren’t on Wilder’s level.