Usyk's bigger, faster, longer reach, more athletic, and more skilled. Oh, and greater ring IQ. Shutout/late stoppage for Usyk. Definitely a bad night for Byrd, who I was a fan of and is a little underrated.
Byrd’s stupid faces and noises wouldn’t help him in this one either. Usyk wins by late stoppage somewhere before the 11th. Too much speed, volume, ring IQ and endurance for Byrd to deal with.
Byrd was such a interesting fighter. He was really good at making heavyweights miss. I think Usyk would probably beat Byrd over 12rds. Byrd had a decent chin.
Byrd might take it. Usyk isn't a huge puncher, and Byrd was quicker with his pity pat, to go along with slick defense. It would be an intriguing boxing match.
Usyk needs more pro experience and needs to make an impact in the heavyweight division before I start comparing him to Byrd, since I think his style for now is too linear and Byrd would love fighting Usyk's straight forward style. Usyk would eat a lot of body shots trying to come in and out and rack up points and his jab would get neutralized. Also, Byrd was extremely efficient with his footwork and defense, so he wouldn't tire like Usyk's used to his opponents doing. Usyk vs. Mchunu This content is protected Mchunu, who is a novice compared to Byrd exposed Usyk's lack of an inside game and that Usyk relies too much on straight punches and fights in a rthym. Usyk was also missing a lot of punches and would step back and extend his arms due to shoulder pain that you get from missing power shots. Usyk's defense was also shown to be vulnerable to check hooks, but Mchunu's timing and handspeed werent good enough to exploit this weakness and Mchunu's upperbody movement and footwork aren't very efficient, which is why he started gassing and Usyk was able to up the tempo and stop him. I'd also say that Mchunu's poor efficiency is also why he got stopped by Makabu.
It would be a controversial fight, most probably. The one that judges usually hate — very difficult to judge.
Every once in a while it gets super overstated and exaggerated, but most of the time Byrds' efforts and successes with Vitali in their fight is underrated.
Usyk boxes the **** out of Byrd. Only thing Byrd could hope for here is another torn rotator cuff stoppage. But unfortunately for him, Usyk would just whoop his ass with his other arm like Loma did with Linares.
We haven't really seen Usyk against any fighters as good defensively as Bird, or proper Heavyweights with a jab but that doesn't stop people from picking him over and damn top fighter from the past. This would be a good fight, Usyk could possibly get a decision or look silly trying to pitty pat Byrd, who knows.