"The Ivan" (Usyk's special punch)

Russ Amber used to be Usyk’s coach and he taught Usyk the “Ivan” in preparation for the Hunter fight. There are a bunch of recent interviews of Russ talking about the history behind that punch and how it used to be a secret code but Usyk finally revealed it.

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Also like this interview from years back with Russ and Malik Scott talking about the early days of training Usyk and Wilder.

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Malik Scott gives Russ credit for being the brains behind Wilder’s win over Ortiz. It seems like he does fly under the radar for most though.

Here’s some footage of him training Usyk for the Hunter fight.

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The overhand punch is such an underrated weapon in boxing. Very few fighters have that punch in their repertoire.

That punch is great against all kinds of defenses when used correctly.

 

It's not new technology, but it's very effective against a high guard boxer puncher like Dubois. Dubois is effective at blocking with his gloves against most fighters. Throwing Ivan wouldn't work if Usyk just stepped back to evade a right hand and threw it - Dubois will get his gloves back most of the time before the counter lands. When Usyk slips laterally AND loops the left hand counter a bit with the Ivan, it's offset enough from Dubois' guard to land flush.

 

Dubois's high guard is an illusion. He rarely blocks punches with his gloves.

 

He also has that uppercut/jab where he can hit you from any angle. Pretty sure he invented that.

 

It looked like a regular left overhand punch to me.

Someone published a tutorial 9 years ago:

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20 years on this forum..not one peep.

 

I like the name and the lore behind it, its an interesting punch and it sounds like he has been keeping in reserve for years.

I wonder what other moves and contingencies he has up his sleeve that he hasn't shown before.

Also this is what I was saying about Usyk taking years to prepare for opponents, it sounds like he spent ages working on a way to KO Dubois before the second fight was even announced.

Its part of the reason I thought Parker might stand a chance against him because Parker hasn't been on his radar until recently, but the more time Usyk gets with Parker's name being thrown around the more Usyk will prepare for him and Parker's chance of winning goes down.

 

I like the way Usyk is of range but very close will throw almost a full fient, a punch through it's entire range, a throwaway punch (left hooks namely but a right hook against dubious) but not actually be commited to it with his feet or really have power on it then the opponent will set and counter whereby Usyk will be already be in the process of countering this counter. It's all in the feet he might look more flat footed at HW but he isn't.

 

I know what IB means here. It initially looks almost like a body punch but suddenly changes into an overhand / hook trajectory. Quite rare but not unique. Erik Morales was absolutely great at this misdirecting shot (albeit with his right).