Usyk Vs Kabayel 2026 Poll

The want and just expect Usyk to fight the much bigger, much younger, stronger, and more powerful Kabayel who has a tough style for Usyk in Kabayel's backyard on a deck heavily stacked against him where the chances of Usyk getting robbed and the ref making things easier for Kabayel and more difficult for Usyk are very high when Usyk is 39 y/o, well past his prime and Kabayel is in the midst of his prime and much fresher and more hungry than Usyk after he has forged a career putting himself at huge disadvantages.

Which other champs in the sport are doing or expected to do all that, let alone at 39 y/o? There isn't anyone else doing it

So many are crucifying Usyk whilst none of their boys are doing what he's doing, let alone routinely and at his age, and putting themselves at such a disadvantage and in such tough situations taking these kind of huge risks where he is not giving away one advantage but many or most simultaneously and he's being treated and judged by many as if he isn't and that their boys are doing the same when none of them are or are even coming remotely close to doing so and these disadvantages are huge ones individually, let alone whilst giving them all away simultaneously

It's easy to criticize a high wire artist for falling to their death when most of their boys are walking across a tightrope 10ft from the ground or 20-30ft whilst wearing safety gear

Many of those criticizing him are acting like he's still in his prime and have been praying for him to to slip up so they can tear down his entire legacy.

Even if he were to beat Kabayel he won't get any credit from many and they'll do exactly what they've done after all his other wins at HW and if he were to lose they'll act like he's still in his prime and conveniently ignore all the huge disadvantages he was simultaneously giving away so what is the point of even taking these huge risks when you're going to be held to a completely different standard and judged like you're still in your prime?

 

I don't have a problem with people criticizing him for things he does deserve criticism for I have a problem with all these cockroaches coming out of the woodwork who've been praying for so long for him to give them any excuse to vent their animus so they can tear him and his legacy to shreds the instance he puts a foot wrong and we're seeing a lot of that

And also people acting like what he's doing is the same as what Clenelo, Floyd, Belly and others are/were doing or doing some of them in their primes and he was the antithesis of them and all that in his prime and has forged a career doing it the hard and noble way which is getting all too quickly forgotten

 

I don't believe in this passing of the torch nonsense. Giving part of your legacy away to a much younger fighter who is in their prime and them having your name on their CV when you're way past yours is just dumb.

 

Kabeyel is much bigger, much younger, has a tough style for Usyk, is a big puncher, is very fit, much fresher and much hungrier, and in his prime and Usyk is 39 way past his and looked hugely declined in his last fight and he took some massive shots from a giant who looked like a different species to him and it wasn't even a fair fight in terms of size, like Usyk vs a MW wouldn't be, so that's even more miles on his clock at an age when he is eroding at a far more rapid rate and decline only heads in one direction

So chances are we'll see an even more declined version next time out so it's hard to feel degree of confidence about his chances in this one given that and all the advantages he's conceding

 

The Usyk of a few years ago would've been too quick, clever and mobile for him, let alone the prime version. Even the slower more flat-footed version of the Dubois rematch would be able to move just enough and walk him into nasty counters. But his speed advantage has been dwindling for a long time and it now looks like he's losing it altogether and isn't able to get out of the way of punches or looks much more laboured trying to do so and can't react near as quicky as he once he did when it comes to punishing you for your mistakes with counters of his own or evading what's coming back at him. The attributes he needs in this fight have all declined a lot and last week they seemrd to have declined massively. Rico might be fast, very awkward, and crafty but there isn't a dimension where he would ever have been catching Usyk with some of those shots he did if Usyk hasn't greatly declined. The speed, reflexes, reaction times, anticipation and agility of a prime Usyk or even the slower declined past prime version of a few years are are on a completely different level to not just man mountain Rico's but to all these other HWs too and the fact that no longer appears to be the case is very concerning as a fan of his

I think the best case we can hope for is that he can come in lighter than he did vs Rico and we get to see a closer facsimile to the version who fought Dubois in the rematch and he can walk Kabayel into some huge perfectly timed counters, hurt him and then go ham on him with combos and try and get him out of there as early as possible but I'm very sceptical he's even capable of physically doing that anymore because it looks like he can't pull the trigger as quickly as even that version