1) Why did Gassiev look so sluggish out there? Reckon he had a bad weight-cut/camp? Also, what's next for him? I'd LOVE for him to face Briedis. That would suit Gassiev's style to a tee, because Breidis doesn't posses the ring IQ of Usyk and would trade with Gassiev. 2) Where does Usyk go from here? HW or say beat Dorticos to clear out the elite CW's of today? Side note: How come Dorticos and Briedis didn't get it on? That would have been a great fight!
According to Sanchez he was the best he could be on the night, maybe Usyk's speed /style overwhelmed him, he was looking very despondent by the 5th round as Sanchez was reading him the riot act.
Gassiev did look rather heavy going in. He looked sluggish because he ended up in the ring with a guy with a style advantage and a class advantage. In such circumstances, fighters always look sluggish. I agree that Gassiev should stay at CW and that Briedis is the right man.
Movement is Gassiev's kryptonite. He needs to be set to punch and does better when guys come to him, whenever Gassiev tried to get set to punch Usyk would move and change angles on him, forcing him to reset over and over again, all the while being picked off by Usyk while being unable to throw himself. Agree about Gassiev/Briedis think that would be a real good fight, both punchers, both like to engage.
Thats all true , but there's another factors that come into play as well such as mindset , attitude , hunger , determination , heart etc. Gassiev bent over and took the loss without ever coming out of his comfort zone. He had the temperament of a mouse in the biggest fight of his life. Usyk was prepared to fight to within an inch of his life last night while Gassiev had accepted loss on his way to the ring. There's been lesser fighters than him who won big fights through sheer willpower and having a do or die attitude. Gassive was never going to outbox Usyk but he never tried using his strengths to bring the fight into the trenches either where he would have had more success. In the end he was happy to lose which was a shame because on paper this was a great match-up. Usyk proved his greatness and showed immense talent but it didn't make for a great fight.
