Today, Quarry likely would have began his career at cruiser. If he did, he and Usyk would eventually have butt heads. Who would have prevailed between the two?
Two of my all-time favourites around this weight, I think Usyk takes this one. Quarry, an awesome counter-puncher, was pretty versatile, and could give Usyk Bellew-esc problems, and even beat him if the fight was to play out that way, but I think, looking at the Machen, Ali and Ellis fights, that high level boxing and movement with elite foot-work/speed is Quarry's kryptonite. Usyk was a tier above Machen and Ellis imo, and in the Gassiev fight (his model performance and game plan for this fight imo) he didn't put a foot wrong. And any notion of Usyk being a 'CW' is a non-factor, since prime Quarry came in the ring around 200lbs, whereas Usyk is around 215. And any notion of him being unproven is also a non-factor, since his résumé is very very good.
Correct. In times past, Usyk would have been just as much of a heavyweight as Jerry Quarry was. In the late 60s-mid 70s, Usyk would have been in the heavyweight mix with Ali, Frazier, Norton and company.
As much as I love Jerry Quarry I think Uysk wins this one hands down. In all my years involved in this sport as a competitor and a fan, Uysk is as talented as anyone I have ever seen at 200 pounds and above. His skill level is just off the charts. The jury is still out on how he will do against these giant heavyweights these days especially with him getting older but I for one am going to enjoy the ride. He has already cleaned out his natural weight class, let's see if he is truly as special as he looks.
