Does Bellew actually have a shot against Usyk if their fight gets made? I (like many people), seem to write Tony Bellew off every time he gets into the ring with someone holding some sort of ring credibility, yet to his credit always finds a way to win. I'm trying to see how Bellew can win this, and I do believe he has a chance to do so, but Usyk just seems to be a whole different kettle of fish to who Bellew has fought in the past. What are your opinions on this guys?
I definitely think Bellew can pose some problems for Usyk, he hits harder than Usyk and he has better footwork than Gassiev, but ultimately I do think Usyk will be too much for him.
Usyk hasn't actually been in any easy fight when fighting relevant fighters besides his last one which was against an extreme heavy footed guy.. Hes way over hyped from what is painted so far and if hes actually as good as ppl claim and he will impact a HW division then he will have NO problems defeating Bellew who he should. Usyk for once actually needs a dominant performance where he hits and hurts someone bc so far the pitter padder style is going to hurt him at HW somewhere. Can Bellew win? yea. will he? He shouldn't. This is two fights for Usyk one where he needs to show hes a legit force and two he really belongs at HW bc Bellew is going to be that measuring stick. Usyk as a force at HW would be nice but hes actually yet to show it in ACTUAL fights. I give Bellew about a 25% chance against Usyk and that's bc how much hype surrounds Usyk but at least for me fails to show HW punching outside point fighting.
He'd be an underdog but he's got a chance. Enough that I'd be tuning in anyhow. I'd expect Usyk to win, but I don't think its a foregone conclusion.
I really rate Bellew and I've been slow to get on the Usyk hype train, but I believe Bellew will be shut out quite convincingly here. I gave Bellew a chance against Haye both times because I wasn't sure what sort of form Haye was in following his comeback, and I even gave him a chance against Wilder when that fight was being bandied around, since I felt Bellew had the ringsmarts and gutsy mindset to take the fight to Wilder and knock him out. The more I see of Usyk, however, the more I realise that his true strength lies not in his speed or skillset but in his ability to adapt and switch things up to a point where his opponent can no longer compete with him. Like a lot of past opponents, I expect Bellew to have a few competitive rounds early in the fight, but as the fight goes on Usyk will begin to outwork him and outtime him, and grind him down mentally and physically to the point where he's punching at air and looking like an amateur. Nonetheless I'm stoked to see the fight, if only to see how Usyk adapts to Bellew's style, and how much Bellew can do in the early rounds before Usyk begins to take over.
This. Bellew gets his punches off faster and has better one punch power than Gassiev. Bellew can also put punches together and has better defense than anyone Usyk has fought at cruiserweight. A prime Adonis Stevenson had pretty much the same reach as Usyk and similar handspeed with the only difference being Usyk not having Stevenson's crushing power. Bellew coming form the light heavyweight division is no stranger to facing fighters with quick footwork and handspeed. It's a 50/50 fight in my book.
Just gonna say the same thing,can’t see Bellew not replying like Gassiev did,Bellew has some power n all.
Bellew will be more willing to take chance if things aren't going his way, but that'll also leave him more open to counter shots from Usyk and a possible stoppage. I can see the fight being a lot more dramatic at any rate.
Bellew's a bit more fluid than Gassiev, and uses his jab to create scoring opportunities, which Gassiev barely does at all, but Gassiev has crushing power in his shots that I just don't see from Bellew. Gassiev is possible the second hardest puncher in the division (after Kudryashov), while Bellew I'd put around Briedis's level.
