Arreola on Gassiev’s power: This content is protected Davison on Gassiev: This content is protected 26 years old IBF cruiserweight champ at 23 Unified cruiserweight champ at 24 Only defeat is to arguably the greatest cruiser of all time in his prime He’s gonna be a serious problem at heavy in my opinion
I was looking forward to see him fight again, but he dissapeared for a couple of years now. If his shoulder is fixed he can do a lot of damage in the division where you have a bunch of old guys like Povetkin or Pulev or out of shape guys like Whyte or Ruiz at the top. It seems Wilder is out of the picture and was never that good in the first place. Realistically only Fury and AJ are decent at this point. Maybe Usyk.
I still got some hope in him since he‘s still very young, but some recent pics and videos of him have me worried. Looks greatly out of shape, which is particularly surprising since he was supposed to have a fight earlier this year, so somehow had to be in training... This content is protected
I'm excited about him, but we unfortunately have to note that Usyk didn't just defeat Gassiev, he "exposed" Gassiev. Their fight wasn't close at all. Sure, Usyk is great and Gassiev is young, but it didn't look like it was a matter of Gassiev just fixing "a couple small things." More like Gassiev needed a complete overhaul. Yikes. That's not encouraging.
I don’t see it. Gassiev without even working at it is strong as an ox and can hurt anybody if he lands clean, but even when I used to see him when Abel Sanchez would bring him to Goossen’s to spar Ruiz, Arreola, Gerald Washington, Ronald Gavril, etc... he always seemed to be going through the motions. He was able to pickup a title with just his raw raw strength and durability at cruiserweight, but that won’t be enough at heavyweight. If Gassiev is serious about being anything at heavyweight he needs to be way more active and start working on his fundamentals, since he’s still young enough to improve by leaps and bounds.
I don't see him beating division's current best Fury and Joshua, and would pick Andy Ruiz Jr. and Wilder over him too. No chance he beats Usyk. However, he can hang in the top 10 for sure. Possibly, if all these fighters retire and/or decline in the next few years and the next talent pool isn't fruitful, he can get the title.
“The power he has shown me in the gym sparring against [heavyweights Dominic] Breazeale, Charles Martin, Gerald Washington, Chris Arreola, is very real,” Sanchez said. “All those guys, he’s been able to dominate and hurt. Once we get him to the heavyweight division and stabilize him at 225, 230, and put some muscle on those pounds, he’ll be very effective.'' -- Abel Sanchez Which HW's ribs did Gassiev break in sparring? This content is protected Timestamped This content is protected ''Ask any given sparring partner who’s been in there with him and they will tell you he’s a small heavyweight who fights like a big heavyweight. “Murat Gassiev – that motherbeeeper hits hard,” heavyweight contender Chris Arreola said of his experience while training with the Russian banger in Big Bear, California. The two worked in the same gym space for their recent training camps. Arreola was preparing for his December 12 showdown with Travis Kauffman, a fight he won by split decision. The final outcome was disputed, but Arreola’s energy at fight’s end was attributed to the work he put in during his time in Big Bear, also crediting Gassiev as one of the fighters who pushed him in the gym. “He caught me in the ribs during one sparring session, I just never been hit like that before,” Arreola admitted. “This was a camp I was already determined to leave as a trim and ready fighter, but I knew I couldn’t half-ass it when he was there. Whenever I saw him in the gym when I arrived, I was like “Beep, not that guy again.” But he makes you work in the gym, he makes you a better fighter.” 'Here is another endorsement. World-class cruiserweight Ola Afolabi (who has sparred both Wlad and Vitali among other HWs) proclaimed that Gassiev is a certified assassin. “Probably the hardest puncher I’ve ever been in with,” said Afolabi, a pro since 2002 and a three-time cruiserweight title challenger ranked No. 10 by THE RING.' I wonder how much he weighs in these recent vids. His face looks a bit chubbier but his body looks hard This content is protected This content is protected
I don't think Gassiev needs an overhaul. How likely is it that Gassiev fights somebody stylistically similar to Usyk again? Sure we can go ahead and write him off vs Fury but the Usyk fight doesn't tell us how he does against the rest of the division.
Excited about the potential he could have but just want to see him active. Encouraged by what Serge has just posted. Maybe this extended break owing to the pandemic will be good for him.
People talk about Luis Ortiz looking old. Murat Gassiev looks like he could be 40. I don't think he's all that, but I think he's better than Michael Hunter, for example, who is vastly overrated.
