Rico Verhoeven vs Oleksandr Usyk official for WBC Heavyweight Championship — May 23 in Egypt (DAZN)

It's one fight right at the end stage of a career of fighting the best and tough challenges B2B on a deck stacked against him even when on supposedly 'neutral ground' vs Belly and the rematch vs AJ.

How many other HW champions throughout history have been everything he has doing all in one fell swoop at his age? How many of the legends and greats regardless of size were taking their belts on that road to their opponent's backyard and doing that vs much bigger, younger big or murderous punching fellow champs and top contenders and and with zero deck-stacking, fouling, cheating and trying to weaken or cripple his opponents in order to even the playing field?

Usyk's intrepid approach and impeccable conduct throughout his career has spoiled us to such an extent that we constantly and unwaveringly automatically expect him to do things at the drop of a hat from when he first becomes a champion until he decides to call it a day even when 39 y/o and well past his best right at the final stage of his career after completing everything there is to complete very often as the B side on a deck stacked against him and he's not even allowed to have one slip up or have any soft touches at all despite every single other fellow great and virtually every if not every other ATG having many in their primes and some refusing to ever do once what he did religiously

99% of fans

''Usyk stands zero chance of even winning a belt at HW. Those giants are just way too big, powerful and strong for him. Mark my words he's getting KTFO!''

Usyk doesn't just become HW champ he becomes undisputed HW champ x 2, when in his mid to lat3 30s and past his prime, winning the belts in his opponent's backyards on a deck heavily stacked against him or on the road on 'neutral ground' on a deck which is still stacked against him all vs younger or much younger giants way bigger than him

Same fans

''Those giants he beat are rubbish. They were shot, past prime, never any good''


''He's just fighting Brits''

''Grrr.. why is he not fighting Fabio?''

''He's only fought 5 opponents at HW''

''He's fought 3 rematches at HW''

Let's just ignore the fact he was 4 months away from turning 35 when he won his first world title at HW and his country was invaded and war broke out six months before he could even make his first defence of said titles.

Let's also ignore how Covid pushed fights back and that he was contractually bound to give AJ and Belly undeserved rematches which sure as hell wasn't supposed to be to his advantage other than well deserved mega paydays because he ripped up the script and upset the plans of the powers that be with those wins over AJ and Belly and the rematches were supposed to right that wrong and restore order

And that even many other fellow HW greats were either retired at the same age or weren't defending their titles much more than that at the same ages despite their reigns not being interrupted by wars and pandemics

''Dubois was robbed in the first fight, that was a legal blow''

The excuses started flowing immediately just they did after Usyk beat AJ and Belly, even after the rematches and I'm alluding to the fans and British boxing fraternity not just the fighters or their teams. Dubois crashes Usyk's post-fight interview and calls him out to his face and if Usyk doesn't give him a rematch we'd never hear the end of it and the controversy after the first fight and they would hold it against Usyk forever and forever call it a duck

It never ends

Never mind don't push the horses, how's about hold your horses? It's one fight. A pitstop. For all we know Kabayel might be up next

 

Notice how people keep saying Kabayel sells really well in Germany and Usyk should fight him over there? They just automatically expect Usyk to yet again fight a very dangerous much bigger, much younger fellow champ or 1-3 ranked contender in their backyard on a deck heavily stacked against him even at 39 y/o and not a single one of them even gives so much as a single thought to the fight being staged in say Poland which obviously shares a border with both Germany and Ukraine and where Usyk has already sold twice as many tickets as Kabayel did vs the unheralded Pole who was lighting him up early doors.

If Kabayel is such a huge star and sells so well in Germany then surely the fight would sell even better in Poland.

You don't expect this of anyone else, let alone at 39 y/o and at the end of their career when well past their prime.

How many times has Crawford ever done that in his prime? He's literally only fought outside the US x 1 in 42 fights, never fought anyone much bigger than him, never been at a reach disadvantage, has had something like 51 home judges of a potential 60 for all his world title fights and only 1 from his opponent's country IIRC and US refs for all of them vs Usyk's 2 combined and 0 home refs

How many times has Crawford even been outweighed by more than 8lbs. Even just 5lbs in 42 fights? Exactly

How many KO artists and legit punchers has he fought his size in 42 fights, let alone ones who are way bigger than him in their backyards?

How many times did he defend his belts in his foreign opponent's backyards? Never

How many world champions did he face in their countries? 1 and that was featherfist Burns

Where were Madrimov's and Clenelo's rematches both of whom were the champs not him and they brought their belts to him and fought him in his country with 7 of the 8 officials being from his country?

Who would those rematches benefited more Crawford or them? They have Ls they'll never get a chance to avenge and he gets to never have to rematch anyone and anyone to ever have 2 rolls of the dice at beating him. If you roll the dice twice do you stand a higher or lower chance of achieving the desired result? Much higher because, duh, you have 2 rolls

I'm not trying to bash Crawford I'm just using him as an example because they worship him like a god and consider him the greatest fighter of this generation when neither he or any other of their current favs, P4P top 10 kings, or future P4P #1s and greats from the US are doing or ever will do or be expected or pressured to do what Usyk and Loma did routinely.

The same gods you worship at the altar of and glaze to high heaven openly tell us they'll never do what Usyk and Loma did religiously or take the risks they did even in their own countries on a deck stacked in their favour. They consider that deeply unfair, idiocy or crazy

Usyk has spoiled us to such an extent we just automatically expect him to do what we never ask of or pressure others to do once no matter how great they are and for him to never do once what they did numerous times in their primes