I like Usyk but i am not convinced by the hype....same way i didnt get on the GGG train God solid hard fighters but not elite talents imo
If Usyk fights Wilder I think his best chances are to fight at range early, get Wilder to miss and get frustrated then vary it up and get in very close to him and throw punches at angles but stay very close. If he fights at mid range against Wilder he will get knocked out cold.
I think his power will let him down, he doesn't have that natural one punch power that makes your wary. People are talking about Fury not having it, but when Tyson wings that short right hook around the guard it definitely hurts - Shwartz, Wallin and Wilder all hurt with that shot. Parker has shown he can hurt with a single shot too ala Whyte. Think Usyk will do well but think over 12 the big men could wear him down and hurt him. Also, Witherspoon landed 21 shots last night according to compubox, and Usyk was marked up. Will he stand up if a big 17st puncher with talent lands 50+ times? I'm a massive fan of Usyk and moving up was the right choice but he needs a year to grow into the division before the massive fights,
You're right re him and his prof development, but the last thing the sport as a whole needs is yet another touted as "amazing" fighter taking eons to fight someone meaningful and entertaining - then taking another 12 months off either by fighting cans or due to boxing politics.
I can see the same problem Haye had (obviously withstanding the different styles and gap in talent between the two), Usyk looked good and he always will do against the fringe contenders but when he has to go with the giants of the division who have power and will punch through a guard he is going to he in trouble. Thats not to say he cant beat them but from what i saw against witherspoon its a concern.
Never understood why people thought this cat could just blow through the division. Too small, no power at the weight. The big boys would feast on him tbh.
Hear what your saying about him being marked up. He didn't really take many clean shots, I think it's more so to do with the fact he does hold his hands up high and takes / parries a lot of shots on the gloves.... so a lot of the time is own gloves are actually hitting him in the face.
It's almost as if some people have never seen him fight before. He doesn't box in a way that requires him to have power, just enough to command respect. His form is good enough that no one is going to willingly let him hit them. He started slow - like he always does - worked his guy out and stopped him. He's been out a while too. I initially expected him pre-fight to get Witherspoon out there sooner but I forgot he's a boxer first and foremost. He starts slow and then piles it on late. In a division with guys that aren't known for their stamina by and large, this will work pretty well for him. I mean, look at how much he piled on Hunter in the 12th during their fight. It probably should have been stopped. I'm not too worried about his chin at the weight. Briedis and Gassiev hit plenty hard enough. I think it was Arreola who said Gassiev is the hardest puncher he's shared a ring with. Usyk looked like Usyk. So lonh as he works the body plenty at this weight he's going to do just fine
Did people miss his WSB campaign or are they just choosing to ignore it? He's a heavyweight himelf, fought big super-heavyweights before, and won. He will be fine, only one i'd be worried about is Wilder, but Wilder has the power to turn the lights out on any heavyweight, regardless of size, so you could say that about any fighter
100% agree. People just want to find a way to criticise. Now everybody is saying, oh lets see him in with somebody like Chisora or whoever. **** that, stick him in with the top boys. Boxing fans are weird, they talk like promoters, let the man try be great who cares if he can beat Chisora or people of that level?
Going purely off that fight alone I wasn't that impressed. No wonder he ducked takam Takam would have given him serious trouble based on that.
. Don’t listen to sky commentary bro biased for my liking . It’s professional boxing of course he is going to take shots back. He may have took steps back but not once was he visibly wobbled or in serious danger For someone who doesn’t punch that hard he was hurting Witherspoon fair enough levels But been. 1 fight at hw put him in next with Parker or povetkin type level then judge