Usyk is still the #1 heavyweight of his era

People gave him a pass to take an easier fight as it looked like a cash grab before riding off into the sunset after a brutal lineup of opposition.

It's silly as hell for the people to try to divide a resume and greatness between divisions when the distinction didn't exist for those to whom they compare Usyk. It's willful ignorance. So many of these guys, or the guys who prop up their "greatness" would have been cruiserweights had the division existed. Usyk has typically beat cruisers BIGGER than the aforementioned heavies, but god forbid you try to combine them when comparing across eras.

"8 fights at heavy" is an incomplete way of viewing things. Zoom out, look at cruiser, look at the WSB bouts.

 

He never had good abs though. You can't deny that.

 

He schooled Joyce.

 

Who are these Usyk fans that claimed he's the greatest HW of all-time? I'm the biggest Usyk stan there is and even I don't think that. I think in a H2H sense he's got a shot against any of the past greats. I also think he's probably somewhere close to the Top 10 of HWs all-time because ancient HWs like Dempsey, Marciano, etc. just shouldn't be counted anymore. Those guys were midgets who would be no more than LHWs these days. Boxing is a completely different sport post-1960 than it was before then.

As far as the inactivity goes, I agree that we would all like to see Usyk be more active. However, basically all boxers are inactive these days. Especially the guys at the top making the most money. That's just the way the sport has evolved. Boxing is no longer on TV so there aren't easy paydays from broadcasters anymore. It's shifted to the gawdawful PPV model where a promoter has to foot the bill and make their money back on the PPV. That just kills so many fights because if the promoters don't think it'll sell then the fight won't get made. Like, do you think any of the promoters would put on Usyk v. Bakole? Nah. It's not gonna sell. What about Usyk v. Zhang? Same deal. If you don't have a built in fanbase or some overarching selling point like a belt or undefeated vs. undefeated, these promoters aren't going to pony up the money to make the fights happen.

Inoue often gets praised for his activity because he's fighting 3-4 times a year. That's great and it's appreciated and he's a warrior. But it's obvious why he can do that and others can't. It's easier to make his fights profitable. Next to Ohtani, he's the biggest sports star Japan has. He rarely fights away from Japan. So he's got sellout crowds every time he fights no matter who he fights. Plus, lower weight guys just don't command the same paychecks the big boys do. So Inoue's people can offer some 118 pound guy who doesn't make much money a low seven figure payday and the deal gets signed immediately. You can't offer a top HW a low seven figure payday. They're worth more than that. So it becomes much harder to turn a profit when you gotta drop $40 mill on the champ and $10-15 on the challenger.

 

No doubt he is #1 of his era but he is slipping fast

 

Good post by the OP

He was awful on Saturday just gone but we can't forget how good he has been which is very, very good

 

Of course he is. And there's a lot of room between him and the second best in Fury.

 

Highly decorated amateur, Olympic gold medalist, undisputed cruiserweight, undisputed heavyweight. This was supposed to be a departure from the murderers row of opponents he's taken on one after the other but even this guy turned out to be very awkward and very capable in a boxing ring, hell of a career can't even have a circus gimme

 

This is a horrid era so,,,,,

 

Cruiserweight fights being added to a Heavyweight resume don't work for me primarily because you'd have to rearrange the whole rankings it just doesn't work.

Is Marciano suddenly the Cruiserweight GOAT now then ? Considering he weighed 185 pounds and most of his notable opponents were under 200 pounds ?

Is Holyfield a top 3 Heavyweight based on his Cruiserweight resume aswell ? Yes I know the Cruiserweight limit back then was 190 pounds. But that's still in the same range as Marciano's era of Heavyweights ?

Heavyweight and Cruiserweight resume should be separate and that's how it should be IMO.

As for Usyk yes of course he's still the best Heavyweight of his era one off night doesn't erase the fantastic career Usyk has had.

I just don't like the fact people on here brand you as a hater or being biased towards the modern era if you have any constructive criticism.

I didn't like the fact an active champion was fighting a kickboxer especially when Usyk holds all the belts pretty much. Add to the fact its Usyk's only fight in the past year and even worse it was sanctioned as a world title fight ?

And then Usyk surprisingly struggled alot in the fight and didn't look good. Obviously fans won't be happy especially since boxings reputation took a bit of a hit.

So fighting in these crossover fights is always a lose/lose situation especially if it's not an exhibition and counts on the official record.

I also don't like the fact Usyk only averages 1 fight per year so not enough of the prominent fights between other contenders are happening.

And as a fan of the sport who wouldn't want to see more of the best Heavyweight in the world in action ?

And that's not me being a hater again I have to keep reiterating this point because frankly I'm tired of people suggesting I'm a hater for constructive criticism.

I like Usyk because unlike the giants of today he's more like a throwback to the smaller skillful Heavyweights of the 70s, 80s, which I appreciate alot more.

But as I said no fighter is above criticism if its valid and unbiased.

I realise Usyk is getting older now and I wish him well against Kabayel and that he can produce one last stand out performance.

The Rico fight also doesn't change the fact that Usyk is the GOAT Cruiserweight and the best Heavyweight of his era.

And if Usyk does beat Kabayel I'd move him up a few places in my all time Heavyweight ranking list probably being close to top 10.

No hate from me I just didn't like the kickboxer fight being a world title fight and I wish Usyk was a bit more active thats all.

 

Usyk is currently the best of this era however the Kabayel fight is looming and this could possibly change everything,this IS and always was a tricky fight for Usyk due to Kabayel’s style and smarts. People saying that Usyk should retire now,NO he has made Kabayel wait for his shot and HE made a deal with the WBC and to be able to fight Rico HE had to agree to fight Kabayel his WBC mandatory next ! Usyk avoided Parker,vacated the WBO belt to get out the Wardley fight (ironically Usyk would have won these) then delayed the Kabayel fight to fight a kick boxer .Kabayel is the best of the chasing pack and a win over him redeems Usyk himself over the Rico fall out and that win would clearly cement him as the best of this era,having cleared the best of the old guard out and then the best of the new fighters in waiting !

 

No. Even if he was he didn't fight enough to prove it. Neither did anyone else you might say and you're right the title of number one for this era should remain vacant.