Is Usyk ducking Kabayel? (VIDEO)

I've no doubt more money is available elsewhere so that's fair enough now he has finally dropped the belts

But old skool moron is talking like it's such an easy fight, you'd think he'd take it for the money offered if it was going to be so easy

 

So he should have fought him then. Wouldas don't exist. You don't get points for imaginary fights.

 

The moment Smakici dropped Kabayel in 2, the Usyk fight turned from “possible matchup” into “please stop embarrassing yourself.” Usyk must have watched that knock down like, “Brother, I’m an Olympic gold medalist and undisputed heavyweight king — I’m not spending my last dance babysitting a guy who got rebooted by #196.”

 

I do understand not wanting to see usyk lose against someone just because of age. But I'd also like the torch to get passed. Even if kabayel should lose it in the very next fight.

What do you think about klitschko fury then or klitschko joshua? What about lewis vitali? Weren't those also aging fighters not in their prime anymore and did those fights not help jumpstart the recognition of the younger challengers? It might take the aging fighters a bit off their 'untouchable' label, but I think it's just good for the boxing landscape. With mayweather just exiting instead of eventually losing to thurman or garcia or whomever, i feel the next generation wasn't quite taken as seriously. At least they were pretty much in the shadow of mayweather (and pac, I guess, but mayweather was the one most often cited). I don't think that's great for the boxing landscape.

Thanks for your answer, appreciate talking with you, too, and peace and love to you, too.

 

Just imagine what Muhammad Ali could have gone on to achieve if the 185lb Henry Cooper had not dropped him in that fateful 4th round !

 

Any professional boxer worth their salt would understand and hold Usyk in very high esteem. I watched his fight vs Mairis Breidis again recently, who I consider his toughest opponent. It could easily have been a draw between two fighters destined for further honours in retirement.

 

Usyk ducked, in my opinion, but it was ultimately good for the division. His inactivity had made an exciting heavyweight division feel stale. He took a year off to fight a kickboxer in a gimmick bout. I know a loud minority on this site thinks Rico is the real deal, but even if he is, you can't hold up the division to give someone a title shot they didn't earn. In the end, I can't wait for a healthier, more active heavyweight division. Usyk can do whatever the hell he wants. However, I think the Rico fight and the potential Zuffa deal have left a bitter taste in the mouths of a good number of boxing fans. Personally, I don't want to root for a guy who had an entire year to recover and prepare for a gimmick fight and then pointed to the war in his country after a poor performance, but that's just me.

 

Never said he was forced to fight Rico. Maybe soft forced. If Usyk had said, nah Turki, I ain't wasting my time fighting your kickboxer pal what would have happened? Well, Turki would have just stopped paying for any fights involving Usyk. Frank Warren absolutely was never going to pay anything. Frank basically owns the sanctioning bodies so they do w/e the hell he wants. It's why Dubois gets a zillion title shots even when he doesn't deserve them. So Frank would have just sat there like he did, offered nothing like he did, and waited for Usyk to have to vacate.

Which comes back to the corruption in boxing. The Undisputed HW champ can't get paid legitimate money to fight his mandatories. These shitbird promoters get to screw around and offer nothing and if the champ doesn't want to bend over and take it in the ass he gets his belts ripped from him.

The Kabayel fight had already been sent to purse bids. The biggest purse bid in history was when Fury fought Whyte. All for a whopping (sarcasm) $41 million. The biggest one before that was when Evander fought Buster at $32 million. No one was gonna pony up anywhere near that kinda money. Turki wants Usyk over in Zuffa doing things so he's not paying. Frank knows the belt is coming to his guy if Usyk doesn't agree to the fight so he has no reason to offer anything. So you want the Undisputed champ and one of the greatest fighters of the modern era to fight this no name Turkish guy, in Germany, at damn near 40 years old, for what. . .a couple million? You think that's fair?

Answer honestly. If you were in Usyk's position would you A) take a couple mill to fight a no name HW on enemy territory with things potentially being rigged against you for barely enough money to pay all your people or B) fight an Undisputed kickboxing king in front of the Pyramids for $50 mill?

 

I think its more for me that I suspect Usyk CAN get back what he lost, Rico fight was a bit of a perfect storm, and I believe he beats Kabayel and with relative ease. Then we will have more glamour for Ituama or whomever is the flavour of the month. The way I see it is its Usyk's ride and he can choose to get off whenever he wants. I don't doubt he is financially secure but I'll bet he's made nothing in comparison to 'the names'. Let him take advantage of the unlikely 'pension plan' that has fallen from the skies in the last 5 years or so. If anyone deserves it, he does.

Wlad had shown little sign of ageing when he fought Fury, and if anything was better facing AJ. Lewis went out on his shield on the top of his game so yes, I see your point, but I also think of the possibility, and I'm exaggerating a point to make a point because Usyk isn't anywhere near as degraded as the fight I'm about to mention, you also have Ali-Holmes or Berbick to think about. Those weren't passing of the torch fights, they were great champs being unceremoniously booted into the past, likely by advisors and greedy camps and there are some rumours that Usyk has poor advisors and a greedy camp these days.

I think so much of Usyk the man, even though I am not sold him being an ATG Heavyweight, that he can do whatever he likes. Fight who he wants or never again. He might be one of the best human beings to hold the strap even if hes not in my top ten.

Take care all, have a wonderful day, Px

 

That comparison needs a standing eight count.

Kabayel is not Ali, he’s not even the AliExpress version of Ali.

Using Henry Cooper to hype Kabayel is boxing blasphemy with gloves on. Ali was a once-in-history genius; Kabayel is a mandatory with a Smakici receipt. One man floated like a butterfly, the other got rebooted by a ranking-page extra.

Ali getting dropped was a chapter in a legend. Kabayel getting dropped was a warning label. There’s a difference between a young Muhammad Ali learning under fire and Kabayel getting his Wi-Fi disconnected by low-tier heavyweight voltage. Don’t put those names in the same sentence unless you’re apologizing to Ali.

Kabayel getting sat down doesn’t prove greatness; it proves gravity still works. Usyk sees that and thinks, “I’m not ending my masterpiece fighting a man whose chin has customer-service hours.

 

Another good reason to duck him I guess, lol. Too bad he didn't think that when a boxing novice embarrassed Fury.

 

I don't know, I simply have a tremendous distaste for legitimizing this adjustment from already super rich people to suddenly comparing themselves to the ones who still have it a little better but deserve it less.

A bit like "Fury and Joshua made more than Usyk so he has all the right to maximize on possible profits no matter how" (exaggerated).

I think there exists a dangerous tendency in western culture to identify with the 'poor rich' / 'the extraordinary'. That leads to forgetting, that there are multiple lottery wins on the path to even getting there (in usyk's case without the cruiser tournament he would be where opetaia is now).
It leaves those others who are still struggling to make their first few hundred thousands totally out of the picture and the worthy challengers, too. It takes the focus away from 'giving back' to 'look out for yourself'. Exactly the ones most capable of giving back are thus enticed to not do so, but still compete and maximize when they are already secured beyond comprehension. A flaw that seriously impacts our societies in my view. And then there are so many backing this, because they see 'the deserving person' (with some identification attached).

I would like for everyone to look at the whole picture. What about utilitarianism? What about maximizing the sum of the outcomes for everyone. We have a whole lot of challengers, we have the whole sport of boxing (and thus thousands of fighters) to profit off good matchups and we have millions of fans. In my view the next hundred million for someone who already has a hundred million doesn't generate enough happiness that it should outweigh other considerations when judging his choices. And I think competition is nice, but when it comes to competing how much is in the bank account it seldomly is a good idea.

I take your point on the ali-holmes fight. Though that's at least not an argument to keep fighting with a focus on money when you already have it made. It's only an argument not to go for the best challengers, when you're done. But I am ok with usyk retiring if he doesn't feel up to it anymore. I just don't like people riding on the aura of being the best and being talked about in those terms without continually proving it. (And I hated the rico matchup and how long kabayel had to wait for his shot only to now be seen as a paper champ. He could have been that paper champ 2 years ago and by now legitimized his status or earned the paper champ title).


And regarding the best person to wear the title, I think Louis and Patterson are ahead. Humble, prosocial people that really gave back. Patterson was begged to avoid Liston because he and everyone else knew how it would end and they didn't want bad Boy liston to reign the heavyweight. But Patterson did what he thought was right.

 

Nice try, but Kabayel is not Fury and he’s definitely not Ali. Fury got embarrassed by Ngannou after already becoming a heavyweight king; Kabayel got buzzed by Smakici while still trying to get into the elite club.

That’s not the same movie. That’s not even the same streaming platform.

Usyk fought Fury because Fury had legacy value. Fighting Kabayel for the final dance would be like ending The Godfather with a TikTok extra.

Kabayel is not a monster under Usyk’s bed — he’s paperwork standing near the WBC office.

 

This. Totally agree. Dubois 2 after Dubois ducked Parker, then taking a year to then fight a kickboxer while holding 3 belts has been a liberty (similar to what canelo did) that would not have been a problem, had he given up the belts before.

And I do have a suspicion he might not have given up the belts to free them up for those challengers and make a good impression, but because there is a zuffa plan in the Background.