World champion at 23. Unified champion at 24. Only loss is to the greatest cruiser of all time in his prime. 27, 6’3 with a frame that can carry the weight better than his cruiserweight peers Hunter and Usyk. In 5 years there will be a heavyweight power struggle, and the russian hammer will come out on top
Thanks for posting my video Gassiev is a beast, I hope he doesn't get injured again. Excited to see how well he does against the big boys.
Greatest cruiser of all time is an interesting claim considering the only other Cruiserweight in history anyone cares about actually went on the become undisputed heavyweight champion. Gassiev has been big enough to be there all along one has to wonder why a man who balloons up to 250 pounds in between fights chose to boil down to 199 to compete in the least watched division in the sport
There are still a few of you out there that just don't get that Holyfield's entire career has a huge question mark over it. Yes, he was the guy who starched Douglas, stopped Tyson, and regained the belt from Bowe. He is also the guy who was knocked almost silly by cruiserweight fringe guy Bert Cooper, beaten by LHW Moorer while suffering from a mysterious heart condition, failed to stop old man Holmes, and had tough fights against lesser lights like Dokes, Qawi, etc. It was almost like there were two Evander Holyfields... Because, of course, there were. There was Evander Holdyfield, and Evan Fields. It is not out of the question that, in an era of strict testing, Gassiev could beat him. And I will be blunt that, the rules well kept and testing very diligent, I would pick Usyk to beat him. Sorry, because he has amazing skill, and no one questions his fighting heart, but when I think of Holyfield, I will always think of watching him over the years and wondering why the shape of his head was transforming from fight to fight.
They are far far more credible than the governing bodies who had Schwarz as top 5 in the WBO and Wallin as top 5 in the IBF I think.
What have Gassiev, Breidis & Usyk accomplished other than facing each other ? Sorry to say but other than their circle jerk, they have proven NOTHING to suggest they can beat Holyfield! Its and insult to Holyfield who went on to face serious competition @ heavyweight & then become the lineal heavyweight champion. I'll wait to pass my judgment on all three once they have stepped up to the plate against some young heavyweight hitters. Usyk gets some slack for at least facing (an old) Chisora.
Gassiev might be too small for HW. At the 230lbs he scaled at for his last fight he looked very soft and pudgy.