Is Wladimir Klitschko the only boxer in history that can realistically beat Usyk

Hard disagree here. I think Usyk pieces up Wlad. And I’m not one of those Wlad haters who won’t even put him in the top 15 or 20. I just think stylistically this is all wrong for Wlad. Usyk excels at taking away his opponents jabs and Wlad just falls apart when he can’t get off his jab. Also I’m not one for sparring stories as I feel they don’t mean much but there are rumors of Usyk beating up Wlad in sparring before the latter’s fight with fury. Again sparring stories are just stories but I thought to mention it.
Personally I’m of the mind that a shorter and more aggressive fighter would be more effective against Usyk. Tyson, Frazier, Tua, Kabayel, etc

 

Wlad can't be close to top 5 with that egg chin.

 

Except he couldn't KO Vitali and was scared of the rematch. But I agree that he beats Wlad.

 

Noone is invincible as even the greatest fighters of all time have losses (Floyd ain't close). Usyk is too small to KO the big and more durable HWs, so he outboxes them, which is evident in his HW record.

Usyk will be at least competitive against almost every HW in history. Maybe a Mike Tyson type gets to him early and flatlines him, but very doubtful with his defence, chin, and risk averse approach.

 

Usyk loses to Lennox, Louis, Ali, and both versions of Foreman IMO. He's an ATG no doubt, but a better cruiserweight than heavyweight. I honestly think Usyk beats Wlad. If Usyk could have Fury stumbling from pillar to post, then he would cause problems for Wlad's questionable chin, too. Not only did Wlad have a questionable chin, but his mentality was shaky too, when he didn't have home advantage, judges, and everything else in his favour.

When Usyk got hurt by a Fury uppercut, he expertly navigated his way out of the round. Wlad immediately went to crisis mode when he was hurt, and that's why he would lose to a lot of these greats. As soon as his back was against the wall, he would crumble mentally, and it wouldn't take much for his chin to unravel, either. Most of the top 10/15 HW's of all time have the power, speed, and finishing ability to take him out.

 

1. I doubt that Louis or Foreman beat Usyk. 80 years ago is a long time in sports. Usyk probably has almost every advantage over Louis. Foreman can easily be outboxed. Foreman is what a 1/2 inch taller than Usyk. This would be a landslide. Lennox and Ali are good shouts.

2. The guys now a days hit much harder than before. Most of the top 10/15 HWs of all-time don't hit as hard as Wlad and are giving up several inches in height and/or reach.

 

I am not overly sold on Usyk's greatness at heavyweight because his resume is thin. I don't rate Dubois, nor do I rate Joshua highly after Ruiz or Fury after Ngannou, great wins, and he arguably couldn't have beaten any better contenders, but the quality of these wins doesn't hold much in the context of the greater division from an ATG standpoint.

I think the way George walked through Frazier and Norton would spell trouble for Usyk; he is uncomfortable not fighting at his own pace, and if Fury could hurt him with an uppercut, then Foreman could, and I think does, stop him. Usyk has no wins at HW that are anywhere near Frazier or Norton, I think, especially the manner in which George beat both.

Wlad did hit hard, yes, but it was his ability to crumble so easily, which he did on several occasions, that makes him such a contentious addition to the top 10 HW GOATs. I'd have him in the top 20 easily, but I don't rate him as highly as many others do. I don't think Wlad hits harder than Foreman, Lennox, or Louis on an ATG scale, he couldn't put a dent in Haye for instance, who was not particularly iron chinned, even as a cruiserweight.

 

1) Sure, his resume is a bit thin and he could certainly use more depth (title defenses).

2) George is not walking through Usyk. Usyk is all wrong for George. He can box like Young and he can bang it out like Lyle, but he will probably outpoint him just like he did with AJ. Usyk was 335-15 in the amateurs and is 24-0 in the pros. I'm pretty sure he can find a way to score a UD win over George. Fury and AJ are arguably better wins. Speaking of weak resumes both Frazier and Norton have much weaker resumes than Usyk.

3) Haye was running the whole fight. Foreman has shi* technique. Louis was a CW. LL is the only one that might give Wlad a run for his money in terms of being a harder hitter.

 

Lennox Lewis is probably the one who would be the toughest match-up, and maybe Ali. 90's Foreman would be a better opponent than the 70's version. Louis I wouldn't even rate as a competitive contender in this case.

I posted in the "most fragile chin thread" that Norton suffered 15+ knockdowns during his career, and got rocked by both Quarry and Holmes.

Actually looking at Frazier's entire record it's quite thin. Frazier's only top win is a UD over Ali.

 

Yeah, but that one win over Ali is worth its weight in gold, especially the manner of it. Miles ahead of Usyk's HW resume, I think. P4P I have Usyk ahead of Frazier.

Norton was definitely chinny, yeah, I'd pick Wlad to knock him out actually, but Foreman just walked through him like he was some random dude they'd plucked out of the stands. Intrigued why you don't consider Louis competitive against Usyk? He was one of the hardest and fastest heavyweights of all time. Chisora was competitive against Usyk, so I don't see how Joe Louis wouldn't have been.

 

I think George could walk through Usyk, it's not outside the realm of possibilities, it's crude, come forward fighters who often have decent success against Usyk, such as Chisora and Breidis. It's usually the more technical ones he completely outthinks. Again, though, if Usyk did UD him, it would not surprise me. We're talking about 2 ATGs to be fair.

Norton has a weaker resume than Usyk, you're right, I'm not sure Frazier does, his win over Ali over 15 rounds is an S-tier win. Dubois, Joshua, and Fury aren't on that level in my view. Haye was negative, yes, but Wlad should've still stopped him; he caught him enough times. I don't see the unbridled adulation for Wlad when he was punched from pillar to post by C-grade fighters on several occasions.

 

Well, and Lewis got one shotted twice by C-grade fighters, which is argubly worse. Also, only loss where Wlad was punched from pillar to post was the Sanders fight. He was dominating Brewster and Purrity before gassing out, Fury outboxed him and Klitschko vs AJ was an all out war.

 

No big stuff idiot on the planet would beat Usyk

Not going to jab and grab Usyk

 

Numbers don't lie.

 

Lewis got careless in both fights, though, and then avenged them, though the McCall one is more questionable. Wlad didn't bother avenging 2 of his losses, and the Purrity one was as bad as the Sanders one for me because he lost to a journeyman in the championship rounds. I do like Wlad; he's a legend and a HOF fighter, but he's extremely overrated when it comes to ATG status.