I don' think either has come close to fighting a live body. Bowie is very crude, and I understand Ustinov was more of a kick boxer, so both are going to need some time.
I know both are big (Ustinov is 6.8 and 300 pounds), and Tapou has a good attitude and work ethic. I'm hoping that they will come on line as players at the same time as the Olympics medalists turn pro and begin to have some impact ... Timurziev, Cammarelle, etc + Michael Hunter. Add Boytsov and Solis into the mix and the HW division may have some decent new blood in the not too distant future. I really respect how Povetkin has got right to the point, fighting often and generally against reasonable quality opposition. I'm really getting to the point where I'm pretty much fed up with Tua, Gomez and all those old guard who just subject us to one saga after another. I'd prefer some of these older fighters retired or got retired and fresh players came into the top tier who were serious about their sport and were willing and able to fight decent opposition on a regular basis. Being optimistic here, I know.
Bowie has a lot to learn still. But what is amazing is he only started boxing a few years ago and had 1 am fight before turning pro. Havent seen any of Bowie's U.S fights but he was a good raw talent when he left oz but with a ton of things to improve on. At 26 years old and with only 16 competitive fights total for him am and pro career I think he shouldnt rush anything. I could almost guarantee that trying to move him into a top 20 position anytime soon will result in a loss and sometimes at heavy that can mean a career over. Good thing about America with the talent pool so big in the heavy division he can gradually move his way up. Down here he had just about run out of opponants, then he was going to have to fight guys with positive 30+ fight records and international experience, there was no tier system down here to bring him up slowly.
One thing about Ustinov, he was a very impressive K1 fighter. Unlike Valuev he is a very good athlete, however he faced no one decent to date and is not really a youngster. Would be interesting to see how he progresses.
Hey, with the heavyweights as poor as they are, anyone bigger than a breadbasket could possibly contend. It wouldn't take too much to KO the glass headed "champ" Klitchko or outbox that chubby chump Peter.
I was verrryyyy surprised when I saw Bowie back in June. i hadn't seen him fight, and I kept hearing that he was a clubber, kind of stiff and not all to talented. What I saw was a fast heavyweight with a variable arsonal and tremendous power. Granted he does have much to learn, I think people don't give him enough credit. I think this might be due to his physique, but the guy I saw was no Shannon Briggs. He was more like Tyson. (Note: He was fighting Tisdale though....soooo.....)
Does anyone know what Bowie Tapou's chin is like ? I know it's hard to tell because the level of his oppositon has been very very modest to date. Did he get hit with anything by Tisdale in the two rounds ?
He was arguably hurt against Brian Fitzgerald, who when fit is better than his record suggests. His nose was bloodied in that fight and his workrate went a bit down. But I think he was more gassed. Really has not fought anyone that is going to test his chin yet.
Not at all. He came right at Ttisdale the whole time, and Otis just couldn't cope with the pressure really. I was just impressed with how quickly he could more for such a big guy, and he had more than just a couple looping shots in his arsonal. He looked like Sam Peter with skill.