I'd pick Oleksander Usyk to beat Max Schmeling

Usyk looked quite ordinary last night to be honest... Probably the first time I came out not impressed by his effort.

 

I agree. I think he is an amazing fighter but I am not convinced that he has the size to hang with these monsters today. I will say he is as skilled as anyone out there but giving up nearly 40 pounds is asking a lot.

I will say it is refreshing to see a guy of his skillset at heavyweight though.

 

And what plan would that be?

Does he plan for Usyk to just stand there, flat-footed, and eat right hands all night until he crumbles? I don't think that's a likely scenario.

I don't want to take anything away from Schmeling, but I honestly don't see he has anything, that would even remotely trouble Usyk. I think Usyk would find it tough going against some of today's huge SHWs - not least Fury, who would be so much bigger, and who can also move and box a bit himself. I think that may be a mountain too tall to climb.

Schmeling, on the other hand, is too small to make it a physical match - and doesn't look (to me, anyway) like he would be able to outbox Usyk. So what can he do... wait for Usyk to gas out down the stretch? From what we know about Usyk, that is not likely to happen.

So what would be a winning strategy for Schmeling?

 

3 years later Usyk isn't as good as he was then, my conclusion is he's excellent at cruiser, but merely very good at heavy. Then again the 1930's had very few really good heavies, and perhaps none Usyk size.

We had several Usyk vs threads before he even moved to heavy, if you can remember.

Considering how often Schmeling lost, Usyk sure could beat him. He certainly take a better punch than Schmeling does.

 

I will say one thing, Chisorah has the kind of record that would be as confusing as hell, if he had fought in Schmeling's era.

Never officially cracked the Ring top ten, but keeps giving the best fighters of the era hell.

 

Is this an absolute pre-requiste for Schmeling to have any success on the offensive?

Which is why I didn't pose it as one.

Seems you don't want to offer any credit to Schmeling, either.

If you honestly can't see anything then fair enough. It's not like anyone has been able to score rounds against Usyk or anything like that.

Fortunately, Schmeling isn't being matched up against SHWs.
It doesn't mean Schmeling couldn't manage the size disadvantage between himself and Usyk.

I think to answer this, I'd have to first at least pretend that Schmeling was a World Class Heavyweight and that I'd actually just watched a limited Heavyweight in Chisora, who was shorter in both height and reach than Schmeling, as well as being slow as molasses, manage to repeatedly walk down and land on Usyk with looping “Here it comes…” right hands.

At that point, I might be forgiven for thinking it non-essential for “Usyk to just stand there, flat-footed”, in order for a Schmeling offensive to be viable. If Chisora can close the distance on Usyk and connect then I feel quite confident that Schmeling could do the same. Not only did Schmeling move more quickly, he also had a much faster and straighter right hand than Chisora.

Moreover, in Schmeling, you also have a more systematic slugger, who possessed head movement and the ability to measure, time and counter on his way in. And, it’s at the mid-range and on the inside that I think Schmeling is able to make his home for the majority of the fight and be comfortable there. He did well working his way out of clinches and getting his punches off, even when his opponent was trying to tie him up and he made use of these occasions to dig to his opponent's body.


It doesn't take a genius to work out that Usyk excels against those opponents he can keep at a distance. He looks great at long range, with his jab and movement behind this, so as to measure up his own attacks. As such, it's no wonder Usyk looked excellent against Huck, who was always more suited to toe-to-toe battles than having to close distance and generate opportunities. Not to mention, Huck was well past his best, with neither the speed nor timing left to launch anything that might surprise Usyk.

However, even before Chisora, we had seen that Usyk can be caught and forced to fight a bit, by an aging Bellew and a courageous effort from Briedis, in a fight which was actually quite close - certainly no walkover. Usyk looks a lot less impressive when things get up close and personal and I don’t think he carries much of anything on the inside. His form can unravel a tad, even at mid-range - with him usually relying on that great footwork and evasive action to reset the distance and get himself back to his preferred space.

But Schmeling is one of the most intelligently tenacious and resolute fighters I can think of. The best version of him could go up in gears as the fight progresses, while his inside and mid-range game were both solid parts of Schmeling's approach. It had to be, really. I can't think that I have seen, either on film or referenced in literature, a Schmeling who ever relied on a jab. And so, he honed a style of his own that was all about forcing, not just waiting for, his opponent to make mistakes.

I think Schmeling is capable of making this his type of fight; finding his preferred range and, in my opinion, winning the battle there.

 

After watching the Chisora fight,,yes Max can take this

 

Sometimes I wonder if anyone really watched any other Schmeling fights than Baer and Louis rematch...

Excellent post, thank you for that!

 

I don't know where the idea that Schmeling can't handle mobile fighters comes from.

 

Ridiculous! Usyk was too small to take punches from a genuine heavyweight like Max Schm --

...er...ah...

Hm.

...You're just stating the obvious, McGrain! Any idiot could tell you that Schmeling is far too small to take punches from a genuine modern heavyweight like Usyk.

 

After watching the AJ fight …yes Max can still take this.

How gun shy was AJ?

 

Anytime bud.