They are more skilled than most of the fighters Holmes defended his belt against. And their success on the scorecards is hardly indicative of where the fight was going. Like a chess player building the board to entice his opponent to present opening of his own, Usyk gives up rounds and lures opponents into fights they believe they belong in. They get exhausted because they believe they can match him, but he wears them out with constant reseting. Look what happened to the MUCH larger Joshua mid-rounds. He finally realized what he was doing wrong, but when he corrected, Usyk just adjusted. And yes, Holmes is better at those things. I would argue he is naturally bigger than Usyk. Longer reach, and heavier. Usyk bulks up more, though. Anyway, it's Larry's size and the size of opponents he was fighting that he fought in that particular way. But what did it do for him against Witherspoon and Spinks? Why did he avoid young? How did he handle Norton? Why didn't he defend against Page? Usyk simply won't let Larry fight his fight. Larry didn't have experience with any Southpaws that I am aware of. That's a massive factor. But he's also dealing with a dude whose movement and pace are on a completely different level. Will you really tell me that Young is a better Boxer than Usyk? Do you really think Norton is better than Usyk? Even the Cooney fight was pretty competitive and while Usyk doesn't have quite his size and certainly not his ONE-PUNCH power, he's so much more skilled and multifaceted offensively. Cooney makes Gassiev look like Juan Manuel Marquez.
Holmes wouldn't have to reset, he's a better pure boxer than all of those guys. Usyk would have his own jab shut down like Michael Hunter did early on but unfortunately Hunter gassed like he did against Povetkin becauee Hunter overexerts himself in the early rounda a lot. Tim Witherspoon had a style similar to that of Ken Norton when he fought Usyk and i detailed why Holmes had trouble with Norton. He was well past it against Spinks and got robbed in the rematch. I don't remember him ducking Jimmy Young and that is a fair criticism about Page. Usyk is also dealing with someone who's quicker than anybody he's fought, has better movement than anybody he's fought, has better ring iq and a long quick jab. Holmes would paw and jab at that guard early on and set up his right hand after Usyks momentarily covers up and outbox Usyk early. Usyk will up the tempo as the rounds go with Holmes primarily on the backfoot still outjabbing Usyk in a much closer fight with Usyk having success with his counters. The pace will be a big hill for Holmes to overcome but we've seen him go to war with Ken Norton late. His gas tank is excellent. Better than Bellews, and especially Joshua and Hunters. Both of them are known for their suspect gas tank. Watch the Michael Hunter fight and come back. Usyk didn't look so good because he was in there with a guy who moved to the left, outjabbed and outslicked him. Things Holmes could do. Hunter gaseed because he overworked early, like he did against Povetkin, not because of Usyks pace. Ken Norton is much better on the front foot than Usyk. Usyk is a better boxer overall yes but it was Nortons relentless pressure style that gave Holmes fits. Norton himself stayed low and constantly jabbed with Holmes to offset his rhythm. Holmes probing jab wasn't effective because of Nortons awkward cross armed guard, because Norton stayed low and because of his constant aggression. Cooney is better than Gassiev in almost every catagory besides chin. Faster jab, better at combination punching and mixing to the body, arguably better head movement. They are both huge punchers, Cooney is good on the inside as well. He's also taller with a much longer reach. It's an interesting comparison because they have similar styles
Is there a reason we have to use the 34 year old Usyk in this matchup and not a younger version? Why not the 2017 version of Usyk?
But he was 215lbs... He was the same size as Larry Holmes. Just because there was a different name slapped on it doesn't mean he wasn't that big.
He was a heavyweight by the standards of Holmes era. I don't think people realize how big todays cruiserweights are. Holmes would make cruiserweight comfortably so would many of his opponents
fair point. but I still think prime Holmes beats that version of Usyk. In his prime, Holmes could do it all, quite different than the bodybuilder
Correct. This battle would be at eye level. Awesome bout for sure, both boxers on the move & boxing. I see Larrys jab making the difference.
