Oleksandr Usyk vs prime Joe Frazier

I’m not saying that he couldn’t have won. Only that it would have been hard. And tying Joe up and clinching him, would have just nullified a lot of his own offense. So it would have been a long, draining fight for him.

He’s never seen that head movement and relentless pressure before.

He’d have found it hard to have outboxed him on the outside.

 

For someone to be favoured over Frazier you have to believe they will knock him out.

That's what it comes down to with Frazier. He was a beautiful boxer who pressured like no other.

I don't see Frazier being outboxed. And I don't see Usyk knocking Frazier out.

So it kinda comes down to whether or not Usyk is able to solve the puzzle of Frazier and his pressure.

My heart says Usyk, but my head has to pick Frazier with this one.

 

I predict a great fight, with lots of punches thrown.

Frazier put a lot of pressure, but lacked the southpaw killing right hand, although his right to the body was pretty underrated.

If I had to predict a winner, probably Usyk, but I can see it either way.

 

Usyk has plenty of power when he sits down on his shots. He'd KOd super heavies and he's had other ones stumbling all over the ring. Just because he's a master boxer doesn't mean he can't hit hard. He's taken the virginity of a whole string of unbeaten fighters. Workrate alone won't cut it. Hunter threw almost 800 punches against him and still got blown out. I also don't buy that Frazier hits harder than anybody Usyk has seen. In fact he's probably mid-list in terms of the gunpowder he brings to the smokeshow. What Frazier does bring is a turn of speed and relentlessness. People speculate Usyk is soft to the body. I don't buy it but OK, we'd find out.

 

Frazier stops with body shots.

 

Usyk would be a problem for all and beat plenty, however, Joe is all wrong for him. Boxer's like space. Frazier eats it up, constantly. He forces exchanges. He hits you on the hip, the arms, wherever there's target. He would give Usyk a full-blown dose of what he promised Fury. The Ukrainian would be forced to fight on disagreeable terms for as long as Joe is standing. He lasts the distance, he's covered in lumps.

 

Just on the subject of body attack, I also don’t buy that Usyk is weak in the body but then one wouldn’t have to be necessarily weak to feel the effects of Frazier punches to that area.

Frazier was a premier body puncher and his punches would hurt anyone - they hurt Ali but in balance Ali could take it to the body like no one else.

I dare say though, Usyk wouldn’t be happy about Joe’s punches to the hips which were, tbh, technically low.

 

Great post.

@themaster458

Read this.

 

I disagree i stated why

 

It’s a very accurate and realistic account, based upon what we know about each fighter.

 

Which Usyk are we utilising here?

I think Usyk can hit very hard when properly set (same goes for Ali) but that power perhaps has become more pronounced over, say, his last 3 fights.

For all intents and purposes, Usyk achieved back to back stoppages - against Dubois and then Fury in the first fight, and the latter fight would’ve/should’ve been the first ever stoppage of Fury - no mean feat at all.

However, Usyk was not as mobile for Fury 1 nor Fury 2 (as compared to his earlier self).

I could be wrong but since and including the Dubois fight, Usyk has progressively thrown less punches either due to slowing down and/or in express favour of better leverage and power.

So, I see a trade off between mobility/output and greater power/accuracy, and Usyk wouldn’t necessarily be able to bring both the mobility/output and power to the table at their known extremes.

One thing, I doubt that Frazier could bring the same pathological hatred he held for Ali (especially in the FOTC) in against Usyk.

In fact, I think Joe would very much like the ever gentleman that Usyk has proven himself to be.

Finally, Usyk idolises Ali - and for him to feel same, I think Olek would have to also appreciate the formidable merits of one Joe Frazier - who gave Ali hell in 2 fights - 2 fights in which Frazier wasn’t unduly stifled by Ali’s clinching.

Btw, from what I’ve seen, Usyk isn’t prone to clinching - am I wrong there? Like Frazier, I think Usyk is one of the cleanest HW boxers.

Certainly, he and Joe would come to fight, no more, no less - but as I alluded to before, if Frazier chose to accent on hip shots - I believe Usyk would very much take issue with same - and not entirely without justification.

Actually, I’m mentally warming to the idea of this hypothetical match up being a favoured fantasy fight - perhaps a very compelling and entertaining stylistic mesh.

 

I love Usyk, but I think Prime Frazier beats him up. Joe’s engine and relentless attack to the head and body would make Usyk fight going backwards. Usyk will have his moments but he’s not a heavy enough puncher to keep Joe off of him. I fancy Frazier by either a late stoppage or decision. If he gets him good like he did Ali in the 11th or 15th I think he’ll finish him.

 

Usyk easy.

 

Except nearly half of uysk’s punches thrown were jabs, (452 out of 905) compared to nearly 80% of Ali’s punches thrown being power shots, (712 out of 917) or a whopping 627 out of Frazier’s 674 shots thrown being power shots. (93%) keep in mind they were both well past their prime in this fight, while uysk was prime against hunter. so if we compared them to uysk in the Joshua fights, (712 total in the rematch) or even the fury fights, (423 total in the rematch) they completely blow him out the water.

 

He threw more against Gassiev...like 930.