He took on someone who was much larger, who could manhandle him, throw him around, use his size as a weapon so to speak. There's no better way of getting acclimated to a new weight class than taking on a top tier gatekeeper, who tends to KO most imposters, and occasionally give hell to the top contenders. Now that he's downloaded that, and learned to deal with it, he'll probably take on a Helenius type.
I can't see AJ outboxing Usyk. So, AJ fighting like he did in the second Ruiz fight may not work. If he fights like he did in the first Ruiz fight and fights prior, he gassed out by the fifth. If he can keep his stamina he probably wins, but I see Usyk keeping AJ too busy to keep his reserves deep into the fight. He gassed by 5 and starts getting tagged up from 7 until he is stopped by round 9-10. Unless he catches Usyk. My money is on Usyk.
Maybe AK could but he might get sparked too. If Usyk can hurt Chisora multiple times then he sure as hell could put AJ down.. Light hitting Ruiz put him down 5 times before they waved it off.. Chisora would walk tru Ruiz any day of the week with no issues..
Joshua employing the tactics from the Ruiz rematch outboxes Usyk fairly easily, Usyk would have a nightmare getting past the jab. Even slow ass Chisora was managing to outbox Usyk before he gassed. Joshua gives him fits with his length and handspeed.
Chisora over powered Usyk. He didn't outbox him in the least. I will say, I thought Usyk wouldn't last if the fight kept going the way it was. After the third Usyk was able to get enough space to work and he pretty much took over. I feel Usyk's movement will be bothersome. AJ needs to be planted to throw. Usyk is smart enough to know when AJ is planted to move, jab or something. AJ rarely throws from wierd angles. I think Usyk will see the punches coming.
AJ looks amazing against static targets, slower targets, amazing. Nobody can deny that, he is big and powerful, hits hard enough and looks the part. But let's look at a few of AJ's performances, Parker, AJ couldn't pin him down and Parker isn't exactly elusive, but the movement gave him problems. Ruiz I, AJ struggled with him, was beaten up and quit, a much shorter opponent who had quick hands. Ruiz II, he didn't want to get involved, he moved around all night, didn't hold his feet and fight, didn't trust his own chin, was widely criticised for that performance, although he did what he had to do, he boxed and he won, seems Usyk doesn't get the same allowance when he moves around and boxes. Takam, much smaller opponent, AJ won every round but was blowing out his backside, couldn't put him away with authority, a stoppage win that was criticised. Takam was an opponent Chisora knocked out, so let's stop pretending AJ punches like Wilder, is as technically good as Fury and is some absolute monster because he isn't. Fury is the bookies favourite against AJ, not because he is more powerful, punches harder and is a savage, but because he is technically better, moves around beautifully and uses angles and knows how to box. AJ also struggles with southpaws. I'm not saying AJ doesn't beat Usyk, I'm not saying Usyk will "school" AJ but what I am saying is there is a case to be made for Usyk, he can box, he is southpaw, he can move around for 12 as seen over the weekend, if AJ is forced to carry that huge frame and bulk around for 7-8 rounds and chase, is hitting air then do you think he might start blowing? Don't write off Usyk against AJ, AJ will be favourite and that's fair enough but Usyk would be a very live underdog and could cause AJ all sorts of problems. The real reason Sky, Matchroom and others are dismissing Usyk is because they don't want that conversation to happen right now, they all want Fury Vs AJ FOR ALL THE BELTS, they don't want or need Usyk putting a spoke in that so it's easy to dismiss him, try and play it off like it's a pointless fight. But, Let's see how they promote Pulev, nearly 40, YES NEARLY 40, static, that upright European style that AJ looks great against. LETS NOT FORGET.. Pulev was dragged the distance himself by Chisora, so surely Pulev shouldn't be hyped up? Pulev hasn't looked impressive fro a long time. Let's see how they talk about Pulev and compare it to how they talk about Usyk, because I believe they know Usyk is far more dangerous to their plans than Pulev is.
Worst match up in the world for chisora. A faster combination punching heavyweight who is sturdier than himself, an a better chin. It’s a brutal ko for chisora in the first half of the fight. If you don’t move with Ruiz then your ****ed
I just refreshed myself of Chisora's record. He really is the archetypal gatekeeper. You don't get past him if you're a pretender. If you do then you can start to look at HW world titles. I'd also argue Chisora 2.0 under Haye could have done more if he was a few years younger. He's better conditioned now than most his earlier fights. Solid win for Usyk. Now he needs to prepare for the tall men. Maybe one fight against someone decent who is 6ft 5 or taller, then chuck him in with Joshua. It'll be an intriguing fight.
Usyk himself rated the performance 3/10, so it's clear that he wasn't happy wth it. Ring rust and injuries probably had an effect, first fight in over a year and 2nd since the end of 2018. AJ is a different fighter and Chisora has a better gas tank and upper body movement. AJ has to try to hurt and drop Usyk, a slow starter, early on and try to blitz him. If Usyk survives the first few rounds without taking too much damage, gets into the fight and pushes the pace he can take AJ into deep waters and maybe even drown him.
I always thought that AJ would easly beat Usyk. Just a big good boxer beats a little good boxer. AJ is also a smart boxer, showing his boxing intelligence in fights with Povetkin and in a rematch with Ruiz.And I'm not sure if AJ will definitely try to smash Usyk, he will be able to outbox him like he did with Ruiz in the rematch. And Usyk is about 34 years old, while AJ is 31 years old, and for Usyk, speed is a critical issue, but usually speed is the first thing a boxer loses with age.
Saying Chisora is 'washed up' is nonsense.... he's been having an indian summer to his career since teaming up with Haye and getting his training in check. He was in career best shape on the weekend so Usyk was fighting no mug. That said, for all the skills Usyk has I do think he needs a few more fights with the likes of a Chisora to bed into the HW division. I don't see him being ready for the giants of the division in Fury or AJ yet.
