Bild: Usyk vs. Kabayel not happening, Usyk likely to sign Zuffa

OLEKSANDR
Let me have men about me that are fat (like mineself),
Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep a-nights.
Yond Agit has a lean and hungry look.
He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.
I will dump the belts and chase a Jake Paul golden handshake.

AGIT
Just sign the contract you fkn drama queen!

 

Tournament is an excellent idea. Throw in Wardley, Huni, Teremoana, Parker etc.

 

Would be typical of Usyk, but Wilder or Rico would also be ok by me. The man is 40 and has done is hard yards. It's not like he's made
a career out of easybeats.

 

It only really needs to be a four man tournament: Kabayel (WBC), Gassiev (WBA), Dubois (WBO), Sanchez (IBF-mandatory).
The winner of Hrgovic v Itauma will be in a good position to be the tournament champion's first defence. They could even run a tournament underneath the primary one to find the best contender.
If only boxing worked like that, ay?

 

"Doesn't quit as long as he sees a chance of winning" is exactly my point. Nobody quits if they're going to win.

He's not very good imo (in regard to an elite perspective), he generally gets favourable match ups, gets away with fouling and far more opportunities than other heavyweights.

And much as I hate AJ, the version Dubios fought was well past his best. Prime for prime AJ splatters him 7/10 times.

 

Nah, Dubois wrecks any version of aj, joshua has become a myth

 

Can't say I agree but get where you're coming from

 

Well we can only imagine. I think dubois could lose but would be more likely to win, because of his superior jab and foot movement. What does Joshua really bring in his prime that wins against prime dubois, which is probably now?

I think dubois gets up from anything joshua might hit him with and joshua does not.

I think dubois would always know he can win the fight and thus not quit at all (btw I said 'chance of winning', not that he doesn't quit if he is 'going to win', that would be way easier).

 

A better jab, sure. I wouldn't say his foot work is anything special though. Easy to look good against the likes of Hrgovic and Miller who just stand in front of you all night.

Comparing their respective performances against Usyk is what seals it for me that AJ is better. Even with a blatant low blow Dubios still couldn't impose himself against Usyk. AJ comparatively at least had one round where Usyk really had to bite on his gumshield, and lasted the distance as opposed to quitting twice.

Dubios had a good night against AJ and got an impressive stoppage, but AJ was far from his prime and it showed.

 

But Usyk is also a prime example of what dubois struggles against. Technical mastery, speed and not being able to touch his opponent. Being outboxed. That's why he quit. Doesn't seem adaptable to a possible Joshua matchup.

Footwork wise i think dubois has an amazing in-and-out for his size, paired with his jab it's a total weapon against guys below usyk's level.

Also as much as people like to ridicule the notion that joshua was best against usyk in their second fight, I feel like that is pretty obviously the case. His workrate was unbelievably high compared to his other fights and he was quick and moved and boxed well. So we're comparing one of the best joshua performances to dubois' losses when we use usyk as the comparison.

Btw I agree with you on the fouling and favorable treatment by warren, getting all the shots and being able to sidestep parker... But I just can't agree that dubois is someone to be trashed concerning his boxing ability. I am happy to have him in the boxing landscape. And as questionable as dubois' win against hrgovic was - hrgovic's win against zhang was at least as questionable...

 

Gassiev bia pulev is bad enough, but what has sanchez done to be in that position? Lose against kabayel, win against torrez and you're great?

Does the ibf not have anyone else they can rank highly?

 

Fair. I am pretty harsh when it comes to Dubios, so am aware of my bias. I also agree that Hrgovic should have lost against Zhang (personally, I feel it should have been waved off when Zhang had him out on his feet).

 

It is just a matter of resolving the chaos as quickly as possible. I agree it isn't ideal, but the quality of options is a direct consequence of the defence order that Usyk was meant to make: WBC > WBA > IBF.

The current schedule is looking like this:
WBC: Kabayel (C) v ???
WBA: Gassiev (C) v Yoka (#14) - July 11
IBF: Sanchez (#1) v ???
WBO: Dubois (C) v Wardley (#4) - rematch activated (step aside?)

Other contenders
Hrgovic v Itauma - Aug 17
Fury v Joshua - not scheduled
Ajagba signed with Zuffa (X)

The orgs could have a more expansive tournament, but that potentially gives Zuffa more time to sign up Usyk and establish themselves as holding the true championship belt. Involving egos like Fury and Joshua will definitely cause scheduling issues as well.

Maybe this would be workable:
Make Kabayel v Gassiev/Yoka (WBC + WBA) by the end of the year.
Let Dubois v Wardley 2 play out.
IBF can order the winner of Hrgovic v Itauma to fight Sanchez by the end of the year for the title.

End of 2026, 4 is reduced to 3. Then in 2027, reduce toward Undisputed, creating a new lineage. But they better act fast, as I really expect Zuffa to sign Usyk, create a belt, and align it with Usyk/The Ring to claim the current line of succession.

Or the orgs do something risky like match Kabayel v Fury and Sanchez v Joshua, and potentially hand the keys to the kingdom to Turki and Dana.
But this is all pure speculation on my part