Is Wladimir Klitschko the only boxer in history that can realistically beat Usyk

Wlad wanted to rematch Purrity, but he declined the offer to fight him again. At the time tho, nobody even called for it. Wlad was seen as rejuvenated and one of the top fighters in the division. People wanted him to fight Lewis, not Purrity. As for as his ATG status goes - he's clearly a Top 10 HW of all time, if not Top 5 if we are objective. His accomplishments are astonishing and that's what constitutes an ATG.

 

I think Usyk gets a bit too over-glamourized on this forum.

But I think you're reaching with your post.

Usyk losing to an old Foreman ? You must be having a laugh.

Old Foreman made Tommy Morrison looked like a boxing wizard.

Evander Holyfield beat the crap out of old Foreman landing over 60 percent of his punches.

Foreman beat a grand total of 1 top ten Heavyweight in his comeback and he was a mile behind on points when he got that win.

Foreman in general stylistically didn't fare that well against boxer types. Let alone an old Foreman who would be facing the best Southpaw Heavyweight of all time with an iron chin who's incredibly tricky to pin down.

I don't see any scenario where an old Foreman should be favoured over Usyk.

 

No, that's fair, any outcome in that fight wouldn't surprise me, to be honest. I just feel Usyk struggles more with unconventional, rugged, and brutish guys. Chisora performed better than Dubois (x2). George also hits harder than any HW Usyk has faced.

Usyk would definitely pick up rounds, but George had the equaliser. I don't necessarily buy into this idea that Usyk has an iron chin; he's just so difficult to hit because he's that good defensively. I also don't buy into the idea that just because he looked good against Joshua, Dubois and Fury that he would be able to navigate HW fights against the elite of the elite.

Fury had him shook with an uppercut. He was stopped as an amateur with a headguard on, and I think it's unfair to use a prime Holyfield as an example. I would fancy a prime Holyfield to beat Usyk, too.

 

I don't have him in the top 10 personally, I'd have him between 10 and 20, he's too chinny and didn't have the mettle to tough it out when he didn't have everything his own way and couldn't control every aspect of the fight. He ruled during a dreadful period of HW boxing.

Similar to Holmes, it's not Wlad's fault that he didn't live through a golden era when he could get S-tier names on his resume, but it diminishes him on an ATG standpoint. I don't see any argument to put him in the top 5. It's a fallacy that he dominated the division; it was he and Vitali who dominated it, and Vitali beat up the guys he couldn't beat up or didn't fancy his chances against.

 

Peter I fight says otherwise.

Joe Louis and Larry Holmes did that too and they are Top 5 guys.

So does it diminish Louis and Holmes legacies too?

Vitali mostly fought second and third tier heavyweights while Wlad was beating top contdeners. Vitali beat 6 Top 10 guys over a coure of his career, Wlad beat 15. Vitali never unified and never beat a top contender or a second best in the world when he was shortly number 1. Vitali's best win are Sanders and Peter. Wlad unified 3 out of 4 belts, became the lineal champion, was shortly viewed as undisputed. Beat every top contender of era not named Vitali. I think you got the resumes confused, as Vitali's can't even compare to Wlad's. When it comes to beating up guys that the other couldn't beat - it was Wlad who first avenged his brother after he quit against Byrd.

 

Usyk vs Tom Aspinall, who you got?

 

Larry Holmes is the heavyweight in history who matches up best with Usyk, due to having a very good engine himself, an edge in hand speed, and If anyone is going to land a consistent jab on Usyk, nicking rounds with it, then it’s Holmes.

 

Holmes had 0 southpaw experience as a pro and got stopped twice by a southpaw future journeyman in the amateurs, which I think rules him out. Tyson would have a better chance imo due to his power and pressure style.

 

What he had a 90 percent ko ratio he was heavy handed. His defense was pretty good too and he had better stamina than wlad. Wlad had better one punch power and a longer resume less injuries and a western style once he met stewart

 

He was stopping guys based on accumulation, not his heavy hands that he didn't have. Vitali did have better stamina than Wlad tho. Won't help that much with Usyk stylistically.