Is Usyk really great or only shows how horrible the current HW division is?

What do you mean it isn't mentioned?

Usyk is the only champion at HW right now, everyone knows he's lineal.

Fury had to mention lineal because Usyk had all the belts.

 

You don't become Olympic Gold Medallist with an amateur record of 335-15, then become unified CW champion and unified HW champion in under thirty pro fights without a single knockdown if you aren't extremely special as an athlete and a fighter. He absolutely passes the eye test as well, and is the right size to have competed against any HW in history. Think a prime Foreman would have been able to beat him? You're dreaming.

As for whether the current era is weak, well not really. You have the best fighting the best, the top guys are all mostly in shape and athletic, and you have a nice mix of guys with deep amateur careers and credentials with legit bangers. Joshua, Joyce and Zhang are all Olympic medallists, Fury is Fury, kind of an anomaly in the HW division, Dubois and Anderson are both big athletic guys with power, Kabayel is a skilled operator who also passes the eye test, and Parker is a mix of great athlete, skilled operator and quite a solid amateur career. I don't see anyone there that's really terrible or shouldn't be there (maybe Anderson), and most of them have fought at least two of the others in that list already. It's not like the Klitschko era where most of the top ten had never shared a ring with each other and were mostly fat or blown-up guys sitting on their positions in order to cash out against one of the brothers. That was a truly dire era, and I say that as a fan of Wlad.

 

I don't think theres any Heavyweight now not including Usyk that would be considered a great, but there is still plenty of Super Heavyweights who are considered good or some that are even considered very good. So the fact that Usyk has beaten two Super Heavyweights that are considered the best of this era atm and who are considered "very good" for me is a very good achievement.

But what I will say I do get tired of hearing this "size" argument all the time being big doesn't make you a great. And Usyk has proven smaller skillful Heavyweights the size of 30 or 40 years ago can beat these giants who are not great which I must point out again.

 

Usyk is a true ATG

And this era wipes the floor with almost every era in history....

 

Joshua is not thought of as great right now but he will be. His career stacks up favorably to Floyd Patterson, who is routinely cited as a great by the guys on the classic forum. 20-30 years from now, Joshua will be remembered as as minor great, and maybe better if he wins a third title.

 

Lay off the boof

 

Because guys are fighting each other. This is now an international sport in a way it never has been, and the talent is there. It just has to be showcased, and that is where the Saudi Money is coming in.

 

Are you suggesting Usyk would beat prime George Foreman when he could barely beat Tyson Fury?

I might need Luis Ortiz's heart medication.

 

Did Foreman beat Young? An aging Ali?

Two great fighters, here. But nobody is perfect. Mad respect for both.

 

Complete shyte.

Ali was under the current cruiser weight limit for the majority of his fights in the sixties and could easily have made 200 lbs for the rest of them. He was the best of the sixties. Was the sixties a crap era ?

Holyfield WAS a former cruiser when the limit was 190.
He did very well in the nineties. Was the nineties a crap era ?

 

Got that backwards, Miniq.


It's not that Usyk sometimes thinks he's God.

God sometimes thinks he's Fury.

 

Does it?

Patterson was the undisputed champion, and the youngest in history to do it.

He was also a top ten ranked fighter for like 16 years.

 

Absolutely no. I'm using the poster's argument to show him that since Usyk is the prototype of the great heavys of the past (for height, weight and reach) his success proves nothing about the current state of the division.
If a big man loss to Usyk proves he's a bad boxer, the same applies for a loss to Alì Foreman and many other legends.

 

Jimmy Young would beat Usyk pretty easily IMO.

I think Ali happened to get Foreman on an off night.

 

I'm suggesting a prime Usyk beats a prime George Foreman. This current version isn't prime and should not be judged against the best versions of past greats.

Young might cause Usyk some stylistic issues but no way does a negative fighter like that actually win a bout with him, let alone pretty easily.

Uh huh. You know what? I think Usyk would get Foreman on an "off night" as well.