They both beat Chisora and dethroned a champion. Has Usyk already accomplished almost as much in the heavyweight realm in three fights as Tyson Fury has in 32 with his latest win? If he beats Joshua again in the rematch does that double his credit? Are we counting number of wins or number of good opponents beaten? I've seen that distinction blur in comparison of AJ to Fury and wondered how people would compare Usyk to Fury. It's a fun thing seeing the variables move around. I mean, with AJ and Fury people debate which was the better Klitschko, but with Usyk and Fury inevitably people will wind up debating which was the better Chisora. ☺
The Usyk win made a greater impression on me because I didn't expect it. In Fury Wilder 3 it was Wilder who exceeded expectations. Fury was great but I expected that.
Usyk win is way more impressive. Joshua is every bit as good as Wilder probably more. And he is the underdog coming in. Usyik Joshua is also a better technical and artistic display. But the excitement and drama goes to Fury Wilder by far.
Usyk had a "cleaner" fight, he never got hurt or knocked down... but from a boxing enthusiast, Fury Wilder III was more exciting as it went back and forth in the first half of the fight. really was on the edge the whole time.. never got that feeling with Usyk/J
Tyson fought an extremely dangerous Deontay Wilder. Usyk while very impressive, fought an over stuffed bafoon. AJ has always been protected, and his heart has diminished since the embarrassing loss to Andy. AJ looked stiff and scared the whole fight, while Wilder was thirsty for revenge and almost got it. Fury was far more impressive, having got up again. twice to defeat KO wilder. I do think there fight to make is Fury/Usyk though, and hope Usyk wrecks AJ again.
The only thing impressive about Fury's win was his ability to get up from two knockdowns and keep going. Otherwise, he fought a somewhat sloppy, less than high quality fight. Usyk, on the other hand, fought the almost perfect fight. His ability to control the distance and change levels and the speed of his punches was fantastic. Usyk's performance was easily the most impressive.
By contrast, I thought he'd win more emphatically, though he wasn't far off meeting my expectation. If he'd gotten Joshua reeling just ninety seconds or so sooner, it would've been perfect. Guy A can assert that Usyk aced his exam with barely a flaw, guy B can argue that a desirous X Factor Wilder represented a greater threat than the tidier but more timid Joshua, guy A can wax lyrical about Usyk's high proficiency in his stylistic groove, guy B can point to Fury's adjustments on the fly and the versatility he demonstrated, and so on. The victories are virtuous in their own ways.
Usyk was a 3-1 underdog. Fury was a 3-1 favorite. Usyk’s victory is much more impressive and that’s a fact.
I was impressed with both, as they both fought very dangerous opponents that could end your night with a punch or two. It's interesting that Usyk had less of a weight disadvantage than wilder did. Both amazing fights in different ways, one mostly a pure slug fest, while the other was a more calculated chess match.
Then Andy Ruiz' win over Joshua was more impressive than Usyk's? I guess some would argue it, on account of Ruiz getting AJ out of there well inside the distance, but I think most discerning observers would favor the control that Usyk demonstrated over Joshua over twelve rounds. Point I'm making is that there's a lot more to it than who you would've gotten the biggest payout on if you were betting. Usyk's underdog status had more to do with coming up from cruiserweight and being relatively unestablished at heavy than anything. If the sport had never gone full ****** and broken up the original eight, Usyk would always have been a heavyweight.
Usyk left relatively unscathed so you gotta go with him. Factor in the size too and it's more impressive. But Fury really kicked Wilder's ass too. The fight was good because of the KD and the anticipation of the right hand. In reality, Wilder got his ass whooped badly again. I think it was worse this time. He got hit with bigger shots.
Usyk is smaller than Joshua. It's superficially impressive that he overcame a nominal disadvantage that guys were holding against him when making their picks. But talking about the size was always doing Usyk a disservice. Being a smaller heavyweight has its own advantages (Cus D'Amato knew all about them), and we were never talking about any old small heavy, but one with significant gifts and high stylistic proficiency. I threw out Joshua's size altogether when considering the matchup, because he doesn't have the kind of game to impose it effectively/consistently enough. Fury is a behemoth. But when did we last see a boxer Fury's size who can fight like him? We didn't see it, ever, and there's a reason for that. Fury is defying the limitations that nature usually imposes on boxers his size. Does Tye Fields knock out Wilder? Does Valuev outbox Klitschko?
Depends on what you mean by impressionable. Usyk has the bigger/better victory, Fury has the more memorable fight. From a historical perspective Fury is the current lineal champ, so there is more of a spotlight on him. I'm sure this fight had more viewers and will be remembered much more fondly. If Usyk can dethrone Fury and depending on how competitive the fight is, the fight with AJ will age well. If he gets beat by Fury then the win over AJ won't be as well regarded.
