Did we jump the gun on Usyk or is he still best CW ever and a top HW?

The issue people have is he isn’t an explosive KO artist. To lots of people this means his fights won’t be especially entertaining.

Haye and Holyfield were probably more entertaining to the general public because of their better KO abilities. Someone who understands boxing can appreciate Usyk’s footwork, angles and movement but that style isn’t for everyone.

His style is fairly pragmatic - start slow and let opponent gain confidence, slowly start going through the gears as rounds tick by and start taking over by the mid rounds. It was very effective against Bellew, Gassiev and Chisora who couldn’t handle the relentless pace and angles being exploited.

The intriguing question is whether this style will work against genuine beasts who are much bigger - ie Fury and Joshua. Usyk’s natural ability should get him through against pretty much anyone else imo.

 

theres an argument to be made that Usyk is the best CW ever in terms of resume and accomplishments.... but Holyfield was the better CW fighter

 

Look how Haye dealt with Chisora compared to Usyk. This whole CW era was overblown.

 

As I said when Usyk first announced his move to HW -It's all about that AJ Paycheck $$$.

Nothing more. He does clearly enjoy the challenge but knows he very could easily get sent into another dimension fighting these guys.

It was all fun and games as an amateur when he was young, fit, durable and super sexy fighting the mammoths. But Usyk is now on the decline to his way out and too right he should be looking to make a buck for himself after a hard 33 years of doing a sport that he loves but knows he needs to find an exit out of, sooner than later.

He will be retired in 2 years and he will lay it on the line and deserves big props no matter what he achieves at HW.

 

Most cruiserweights don't move up and be successful at heavyweight. Holyfield and Haye are the exceptions. Both have the genetics to put on lots of muscle mass, and retain their punching power and athleticism. Usyk has the skill but not nearly heavy handed enough to do damage against these enormous fat behemoths. He will have the same problems like Adamek , Mormek and Juan Carlos Gomez had in my opinion. 12 round after 12 round fights, and his punch resistance depleting at a quicker rate than the usual 200lb division fighters. I think he's already taken more punishment in his last 2 fights. Some cruiserweights just have the natural frame to be better suited to heavyweight.

 

34 in January also, Holyfield was just 26 when he stepped up to hw in 1988. He deserves his shot at Joshua though and going in against a bit hitting 250lber was good prep.

 

He should be rated number one at cruiserweight, but he isn't as good a fighter as Holyfield. Holy woulda beaten him, and there's literally noway Usyk will have a run to match Holyfield's at heavyweight. The competition isn't good enough, nor is Usyk.

But Usyk's extensive résumé at CW means he should be #1 IMO.

 

A lot of people jumped the gun for sure, they were calling him a top heavyweight right after his fight with Witherspoon. He wasn't impressive against Chisora also but the win solidified his place in HW. Can't say he is top 10 for beating Chisora just yet though, expecting a big jump in competition next fight.

In the CW, he's number 1. His resume is as good as it gets, doesn't mean that he was a better fighter than Holyfield though but his CW era was way better than Holyfields.

 

I don't mean to call you a casual or pull the YDKSAB thing, because I think that is ridiculous, but you clearly are not allowing for the difference between a boxer and a puncher.

Are you telling me that Usyk would lose to Carl Jones? The point is that these triangle comparisons have to be taken with a grain of salt.

As for whether we jumped the gun, no. The guy has beaten five titlists, and two others who might win a title in the near future. Regardless of what happens at heavy, his legacy is guaranteed.

As for how he is going to do at heavy, I can only keep repeating myself. The guy averages 70-80 punches a round in big fights, and can turn it up to over 100. He's going to beat a LOT of heavies. I am not going to say that he will beat Fury or Joshua, but he will absolutely roll anyone else, and have a good shot at winning a belt.

Have we forgotten that he beat Hunter, who is arguably the third best heavy in the world now based on his being on the borderline screwjob end of a dodgy draw with the now surging Povetkin? He beat the doors off the the same Hunter that fans are now clamoring to fight Fury, so how bad can he be?

The Chisora win was productive, so, if they split off the WBO belt, bring on Dubois or Parker, and later the winner of Joshua-Fury.

 

Haye also struggled with guys at CW that Usyk would’ve bossed (Fragomeni, Mormeck). I don’t think either would have been a top 5 cruiser in Usyk’s era.

 

Carl Thompson.

 

You are not taking into account the versions of Chisora. Much, much fresher vs Haye.

 

And you are not answering the Carl Thompson example.

Styles make fights. That is all.