I was thinking about this even before this 2nd Usyk/Fury fight and I don't understand why Usyk didn't turn heavyweight earlier Obviously the money is greater and Cruiserweight isn't even heavily recognized by most Was it a legacy/accomplishment thing? Or a size thing where Usyks body just wasn't big enough yet
It was a legacy thing IMO. During the Klit era, the media claimed that small heavyweights couldn't beat big ones. So better to become a world champ at cruiser first. Even if you then fail at heavy, you can still retire as world champ instead of just a heavyweight contender.
Think the cruiserweight division was red hot when usyk was fighting there. The bigger question is probably why he took so long to turn over from the ams to the pros. Only really spent 2 years in the pro game finding his feet before going straight to clearing up the division in 2 years.
What is absolutely amazing is that Usyk has beaten AJ twice and Fury twice + Dubois... all past the age of 35
Defo. Should have turned over quicker tho imo. Doesnt really matter....basically accomplished everything regardless in the short time of being a pro. Just a pity he,ll be gone almost too soon due to age.
Cruiserweight is a lot more popular in Europe than the U.S. too. I think he handled his career perfectly. He had no need to fight 20-30 tomato cans to pad his record like most guys coming up nowadays do.
Cause he is a natural Cruiser. He is undersize in todays Heavyweight. With nothing left to prove or challenge himself at cruiser he moved up.
Starting out a cruiserweight was great, since the division was popular in Europe, so Usyk was able to stay active and build a reputation while he was at it. If Usyk would've started out at heavyweight he would've starved when it came to getting top heavyweights in the ring with him much like Byrd did when he first moved to heavyweight. Usyk's team did a wonderful job maneuvering him at each stage of his career.
It was part of his plan. Cruiser developed his pro skills. "Winning the heavyweight championship isn't my dream, it is something I am planning to do."
But whats missing from his record. If he went pro in 2008 unstead he would just have 20 more cans on his record. The olympic gold is more valuable and he beat everyone there was at cruiser abd heavy a d became undisputed twice.
