What happened: Usyk badly faded or Rico much better than expected?

Chuck Norris · May 23, 2026

CST80 said: ↑

No... RIco crowded him and was throwing from all angles, didn't give Usyk a chance to think or adjust, because Rico was also constantly attempting something new. It threw him off his game.
Click to expand...

Rico was fighting like Jim Carrey in there. It was absolutely horrible. Usyk didn't train at all and completely embarrassed himself and the sport.

themaster458 · May 23, 2026

MixedMartialLaw said: ↑

shows he could potentially beat anyone in history in a stand up fight given the night.
Click to expand...

He's not beating Schilt in a million years. Hoost and Aerts would probably also be 50/50. Hari would be hard as well

CST80 · May 23, 2026

Chuck Norris said: ↑

Rico was fighting like Jim Carrey in there. It was absolutely horrible. Usyk didn't train at all and completely embarrassed himself and the sport.
Click to expand...

No, he was fighting like a far smarter and far more accurate and heavy handed Chisora.

turbotime · May 23, 2026

Usyk had a hard time with his herky jerky style and his refusal to back off when Usyk tried to get something going.

I'd imagine Rico using his size advantage and bulling into him whenever he could played a big part as well.

MixedMartialLaw · May 23, 2026

CST80 said: ↑

No... RIco crowded him and was throwing from all angles, didn't give Usyk a chance to think or adjust, because Rico was also constantly attempting something new. It threw him off his game.
Click to expand...

Rico fought like a KB and MMA fighter would when he closed the distance.

Usyk kept reacting like Rico was going to come over, clinch and lean on him, the way Fury would. Instead, Rico kept firing strong inside punches.

Modern boxers rely too much on the clinch and the ref breaking it up, to the point that many don't really know how to react to or initiate true inside fighting.

Finkel · May 23, 2026

Flo_Raiden said: ↑

Just another example of kickboxers / Muay Thai fighters being capable of doing well in boxing. We’ve seen that happen before. Says a lot about how well they can adjust with not being allowed to kick or use elbows.

Boxers will always have the advantage when it’s set in boxing rules but a boxer being put in an octagon or with kickboxing/Muay Thai rule will be a fish out of water. Can only imagine how it would be if Usyk went into a kickboxing match with Rico.
Click to expand...

It would end very quickly if the codes were reversed

Serge · May 23, 2026

Both but Usyk's age and coming in that heavy played a huge part because he, as I feared and have been concerned about with him getting increasingly heavier at the weight over the years, gave away his speed advantage and not only made him much slower and more sluggish when he has already slowed down a lot in those departments due to age and the added weight, but made him easier to hit and it easier for Rico to block or evade his shots

Serge said: ↑

Rico doesn't just have quick hands, size, athleticism, and every conceivable intangible you need to dominate a sport for a decade + but he also has shovels for hands. His hands and feet are absolutely massive

He isn't intimidated at all and, as he says, his attacks are going to be more unconventional and unpredictable than those of a career boxer and I believe that coupled with his size, speed, power, athleticism and self-belief and winner's mentality and Usyk's age is going to make him more dangerous than many believe

This content is protected

Eddie Hall on Rico

Warning contains strong language

This content is protected

Usyk is right

This content is protected

Click to expand...

Serge said: ↑

Rico is a giant of a man, is very fast and athletic, has been training boxing for 15 years with a top trainer who guided Greedy Belly to become the unified champion, is the undisputed HW champion, is a kickboxing GOAT with almost 80 fights of experience under his belt, hasn't lost a fight in almost 11.5 years, and has only been stopped x 2 in almost 80 fights both to murderous punchers 14 and 15 y/o when he was 21 and 22 y/o both of which he avenged and pre his 12 year undefeated HW title reign.

And he's extremely confident and full of self-belief and in his own words the fact he's coming from a kickboxing background makes him unpredictable for Usyk because he brings angles, movement, and timing that differ from traditional professional boxers, which he believes makes his attack harder to read for him

Tom Aspinall says exactly same about his experience sparring boxers

Rico also has the element of surprise on Usyk who won't know what to expect because there is so little footage of Rico boxing to study

And Usyk is 39 y/o and is facing a much bigger man who, as said, is very fast and athletic

You can't watch this and deny that speed. He looks very fast, let alone for a giant of his dimensions and then when you couple that with his huge size advantage, his unpredictability, and everything else and yes he does pose a risk

This content is protected

The slow and cumbersome Ngannou took Greedy Belly to a SD in his boxing debut, doing better vs him in his 1st boxing fight than The Dosser did in 3 attempts and 80 fights of experience amateur and pro under his belt

In his boxing debut Conor McGregor was outboxing defensive master Floyd and walking him into educated counters that we've rarely seen Floyd get hit with

Fabio Wardley is a white collar boxer who became HW champion despite a complete lack of skill and most of his opponents being bums

Is Rico less skilled than The Dosser, Fabio, Ngannou, Conor?

And what if Usyk boxes his ears off, outclasses him, or outclasses him and knocks him out? Does that mean Rico's a bum given how Usyk has done that god knows how many times to the best fighters in the world amateur and pro?
Click to expand...

Serge · May 23, 2026

Serge said: ↑

I didn't say he'd beat him I said he poses a threat for the numerous reasons I outlined. Even a prime version of The Dosser is unskilled gangling bum who Usyk would toy with but he would still pose a threat. Fabio would still pose a threat even though he's basic as hell with very poor skills.

Yes, on paper Usyk should win without much bother but given Rico's huge size advantage, athleticism, speed and especially speed for someone of his gargantuan dimensions, his unpredictability throwing punches and punches from angles Usyk isn't used to, and the fact he's the undisputed HW kickboxing champion, is arguably the GOAT HW kickboxing champion, hasn't lost a fight in 11.5 years, and has been training boxing with an elite boxing trainer for 15 years who trained his nephew to become a three-belt unified champion, and is brimming with self-belief and confidence it all combines to make him dangerous. His size, athleticism, speed, and unpredictability alone pose a threat

And yes, I'm absolutely factoring Usyk's age into this as I do before everyone of his fights at his age because he's already slowed down a lot. If Usyk was in his prime and as fast as he used to be with his super sharp reflexes and reaction times it would be very different but he isn't

People are acting like Rico's a tennis player or a snooker player or something with zero combat sport experience under his belt when he's one of the greatest kickboxers we've ever seen, hasn't lost a fight in 11.5 years, and in a sport where they throw extremely powerful kicks and punches (in the HW division no less) has only been stopped x 2 in almost 80 fights and that was way back when he was 21-22 vs massive punchers and he avenged both losses

I've seen too many combat sports athletes from other disciplines cross over into boxing and do better or much better than damn near everyone expects them to to completely write off their chances, let alone when they're an undefeated in 11.5 years fast athletic kickboxing GOAT with a huge size advantage facing a 39 y/o

Do I expect him to pull off a huge upset? No but he's a dangerous guy and I won't be surprised if he causes Usyk some problems and Usyk is still going to have to be wary of what's coming back at him

Me too he seems like a great guy and well deserving of a huge payday
Click to expand...

roughdiamond · May 23, 2026

Honestly it's a combo of multiple things imo:

- Usyk is fading
- Usyk though he could KO him quickly so came in a bit heavier.
- Usyk stylistically has a weakness to dogged pressure fighters.
- Rico was also better than expected.
- Rico had a good gameplan that took advantage of his attributes.

shrap · May 23, 2026

Usyk looked old even at the start before things heated up. Everyone says it and they say "father time is undefeated", but then when it actually happens everyone flips and says they were "exposed".

Clearly past his best years and clearly not at world level anymore. He's 40 in 6 months, his combined amateur and pro fights is getting close to 400 and he couldn't even slim down to his usual weight which he used to actually struggle to build up to.

d4n1elc · May 23, 2026

catchwtboxing said: ↑

Usyk has has 350 amateur fights. No way.
Click to expand...

And kicks do more damage than punches

catchwtboxing · May 23, 2026

d4n1elc said: ↑

And kicks do more damage than punches
Click to expand...

But not hundreds of fights worth.

d4n1elc · May 23, 2026

Verhoeven who was showing shades of John Ruiz with that awkward guard and smother style was outboxing Usyk until that stoppage

leftsmoke · May 23, 2026

d4n1elc said: ↑

Verhoeven who was showing shades of John Ruiz with that awkward guard and smother style was outboxing Usyk until that stoppage
Click to expand...

Got me wondering how John Ruiz would have done in kickboxing. Hard to imagine him lifting his legs higher than his trunks though.

Rick’s Piano · May 23, 2026

Both plus not taking it seriously enough, coming in well over his usual weight was a sign that his discipline wasn’t there for this fight

Log in or Sign up

What happened: Usyk badly faded or Rico much better than expected?

Chuck Norris Obsessed with Boxing

themaster458 Boxing Addict Full Member

CST80 The Hesitant Nihilist Staff Member

turbotime Hall Of Famer Full Member

MixedMartialLaw Combat sports enthusiast Full Member

Finkel Boxing Addict Full Member

Serge Ginger Dracula Staff Member

Serge Ginger Dracula Staff Member

roughdiamond Ridin' the rails... Full Member

shrap Member Full Member

d4n1elc DLC Full Member

catchwtboxing Loyal Member

d4n1elc DLC Full Member

leftsmoke Member Full Member

Rick’s Piano Member Full Member

Log in or Sign up

Forums

What happened: Usyk badly faded or Rico much better than expected?

Chuck Norris Obsessed with Boxing

themaster458 Boxing Addict Full Member

CST80 The Hesitant Nihilist Staff Member

turbotime Hall Of Famer Full Member

MixedMartialLaw Combat sports enthusiast Full Member

Finkel Boxing Addict Full Member

Serge Ginger Dracula Staff Member

Serge Ginger Dracula Staff Member

roughdiamond Ridin' the rails... Full Member

shrap Member Full Member

d4n1elc DLC Full Member

catchwtboxing Loyal Member

d4n1elc DLC Full Member

leftsmoke Member Full Member

Rick’s Piano Member Full Member