Tyson vs. Usyk would be a good one. Usyk is adaptable and solves problems, Tyson mostly fought one way but he was excellent fighting that one way. Usyk being a southpaw might not trouble Tyson as much as it bothers others since MT would be attacking him. But it might still throw off Tyson's timing - slipping a jab coming from the opponent's right side. Another thing is Usyk is going to notice in video that MT often fights with his feet parallel. Usyk would find ways to make that work, primarily by taking advantage of MT lack of balance to the front and rear. Usyk could pull and push him much like Holyfield did. Of course Usyk would have to avoid most of MT combinations and he'd have to be able to hit MT as he advances and slow him down. The right jab, left cross might be a big problem for MT depending on how well he can pick up punches coming from the opposite direction. Southpaw Usyk would also be moving to his right, Tyson's left, Tyson would have to adapt to that too. Tyson is mostly predictable, he is going to come forward, slip punches and throw hard, fast combinations. Usyk might move and give Tyson a lot of lateral movement, but Usyk is a big, strong guy and he might come out, take advantage of Tyson's stance and try to push Tyson back. If he is successful he'd probably stay with it, if not he'd change. Usyk can fight a variety of ways, Tyson is excellent at what he does. There are no apparent weaknesses in either of them other than Tyson's parallel stance. Tyson at his best vs. Usyk at his best is a fight I wouldn't bet a dime on but it would be interesting to watch.
Especially if the bout goes past say 8 rounds. Would be very interesting to watch Mike in there with this opponent in the late rounds and if his survival skills would become a factor.
No, Usyk is not Muhammad Ali - he is way better. Furthermore, most of the men Ali faced would be cruiserweights today - and we all know what Usyk did in that division. Usyk also has a much better chin than Ali - Hahaha, can anyone imagine Usyk being decked by Cooper, Banks and Frazier? Laughable, my friends. Clay/Ali was floored by midgets.
Bigger, stronger, more hardpunching than small 213 pound Young. Add to that, that Usyk weighs the same as Foreman, and that he is a leftie.
So, Usyk only stands a chance against the version of Foreman who faced Young? I thought we'd already established that. And, can we perhaps stop conveniently treating the southpaw stance as some kind of magic bullet?
It can be a BIG problem if the orthodox fighter can't pick up on punches coming from the opposite side. Tyson, had probably seen some left handed opponents/sparring partners, but we know Usyk had seen a lot of right handed fighters. That is the advantage, southpaws see orthodox fighters daily, orthodox fighters see some left handed fighters now, but in the past it was rare. If you've ever seen a guy fighting a southpaw and he can't pick up on the punches coming from the opposite direction, it can be brutal. It's not that southpaw is superior to orthodox, they can both do the same things to each other, it's just that southpaws get more opportunity to practice against orthodox fighters than orthodox fighters get to practice against southpaws.
But you are making Usyk sound like a God, he won a very big fight, you need to settle down, wait and see what he does with the title, it was a win by a split decision. Fury has stated that he wants to invoke the return bout clause in their contract, I heard by October 2024. I am glad that you are so excited about Usyk's victory but again let's see what happens in the rematch and going forward.
It's going to be a big problem if a fighter can't pick up on punches coming from anywhere, whichever stance they're up against. Agreed on it being an experienced based matter, as opposed to some kind of stylistic advantage - yet I still see people believing this to be the case. Not saying there aren't fighters who might get fogged by a southpaw, but I would suggest they're the level of fighter that might have trouble in general. It really shouldn't be an issue at the elite level where identifying and reading patterns in opponents should be second nature.
I'm not making Usyk out to be a God or anything of the sort. But you're definitely downplaying his accomplishments. He won THREE very big fights at heavyweight not one. The Andy Ruiz comparison is non-sensical. 1. Usyk cleared out his entire cruiserweight division which is historically bigger than the vast majority of previous heavyweight divisions. 2. Usyk moved up to heavyweight and beat one of the two major champions in the division (unless you count Dubois, who Usyk also beat to make three). And unlike Ruiz, he genuinely outclassed him. Joshua was winning against Ruiz, until he floored him, then foolishly tried to stop him without moving in on his man at angles to confuse his buzzed opponent and got nailed with a counter. There were no flukes here. Joshua was outclassed from start to finish. 3. Also, unlike Ruiz, he won the rematch against Joshua, proving it was no fluke. 4. He beat the other champion, the undefeated Tyson Fury clearly (split decision was bull) and became the first undisputed champion of this century. Call me crazy, but he has sweet **** all to prove. He cleared out his division, moved up to heavyweight, beat the very best they had to offer, unified the titles, and became the first person since Lennox Lewis to become undisputed champion. I definitely don't need to wait, to assess him as an all-time great. Trying to relegate him to the level of Andy Ruiz is absolutely pathetic.
I know Usyk has a good chin but is it Tyson resistant good? I wouldn’t bet on this fight but prime for prime I would edge it to Tyson
