Larry Holmes Vs Oleksandr Usyk (15Rounds)?

Usyk beats any version of holmes. Only thing holmes has on Usyk is a better jab. Thats it. Usyk is a smarter fighter with much better footwork. When did holmes ever face a southpaw anywhere near as good as Usyk. He didn’t

 

Holmes points win. The jab is the difference here,

 

It’s not an easy fight for either man because they never faced anything like each other.

 

In all seriousness yeah that's true but I think Usyk's overall depth and consistency will carry him through. Especially in the later rounds.

 

I don’t have a problem with people picking Usyk. He is indeed Amazon in later rounds. So was Holmes though, and he was used to 15 rounds.

one thing Usyk will probably need to do is come in lighter than he did vs Dubois. 226 lbs isn’t his peak fighting weight. His best weight will probably be between 215-220 lbs max especially when fighting quick fighters.

 

The difference is Holmes needed to take off rounds to make it to 15 or fight at a slow pace otherwise he tended to slow down especially as the fight went on. Usyk is great at forcing fighters to fight at his pace which I think will be the difference

 

Usyk takes away Holme's jab by being a southpaw. Holmes was a champ and I think he would make a dog-fight out of it, but Holmes just kind of starts out behind the eight-ball.

 

Usyk takes rounds off too. Difference is he is fighting guys who simply don’t have the gas tank Holmes’s opppnents did. The idea that Usyk is so much smarter than Holmes that he can force Holmes to fight at his pace is silly.

 

I think Usyk takes a close decision. I think the real difference is Usyk's power. Usyk almost knocked out Fury and Joshua. He did knock out Dubois. These are big guys that outweight him by 20, 30-plus pounds. If Larry gets caught which I think he will eventually it might be over.

 

Not to the same extent Holmes did. When Usyk gives away rounds it's usually because he's actively building pressure, forcing opponents to think and react constantly and that mental and physical pace adds up over a fight.

It's not like Holmes was facing endless cardio machines either. One of his best wins was against Gerry Cooney, who was competitive but clearly faded as the fight went into the later rounds.

Its not that Usyk is “smarter” than Holmes it’s how their styles interact. Usyk’s movement, angles, and constant feints force opponents to reset and think every exchange. He simply has a deeper bag of tricks and more versatility than Holmes and when two cerebral fighters meet, the more versatile one usually dictates the fight.

 

It does not matter if these guys are bigger. Holmes was only ever stopped by prime Tyson.

Joshua and Dubois are nowhere near as durable as Holmes. Nor is Fury. Usyk isn’t stopping Holmes.

 

Usyk isn't a puncher. Holmes has a better chin than both Fury and Dubois. They've been dropped numerous times.

 

I am still amazed that the myth of bigger somehow being more durable persists.

Dubois has an an average chin. Dude was dropped by Kevin Larena, stopping him doesn’t make one a puncher.

Usyk has solid power but the idea that he is going to stop a man who took clean shots of Earnie Shavers and Gerry Cooney is comical.

Fury was dropped by a light hitting Cunningham. but you still see this insistence that bigger guys are more durable.

Yes, Lewis and Wlad indeed have better chins than Holmes and Foreman due to being 20
Lbs bigger.

 

This is a fight that would certainly go the distance. Holmes has one of the best jabs of all time but we have only seen it effective against conventional fighter's. Uysk, from the time he was a kid has been taking that punch away from conventional fighters as a southpaw with hundreds of amateur fights. I just don't see Holmes having the same success with the jab against Uysk with the way Uysk feights/parries the jab. I also don't see him outworking Uysk who simply has an unbelievable gas tank. Holmes will have some moments with his heart and fighting spirit but Uysk has the intangibles that I would be betting on.