Rocky Marciano Versus Oleksandr Usyk

Marciano had insane stamina, iron chin, and one of the highest KO ratios in Championship fights. Usyk never knocked out his best opponents CW or HW.

 

Marciano stopped one notable opponent over 200 pounds and that was a totally shot Joe Louis.

Usyk has hurt elite Super Heavyweights with single punches he can certainly get Marciano's respect.

Usyk's two best opponents at Cruiserweight in Briedis, Gassiev, have iron chins and have never been stopped.

 

They were both CW right? So let them fight out CW then.

 

Yes and I'd still favour Usyk 6'3 78 inch reach vs 5'10 67 inch reach Marciano.

Usyk would make Marciano look pedestrian with his speed/movement/angles.

 

Saint Usyk is not that special. What he has done has been done before many times. And he doesn’t knock out anybody elite. Talking about pedestrian.

 

How many fighters were undisputed in two different weight classes after beating the best fighters in both? Actually delusional

 

A lot before the belt split up. Undisputed is also a matter of having the promoters put the money down to make the fight happen.

 

While there were some heavyweights in that era that were that big it was still on the higher end while the average during that time was around 6'0"-6'2" and 200-210 lbs. For example Ali and Usyk are around the same height and reach and most of Ali's opponents during that time were smaller then him and only a few were same size or bigger. So Usyk would be on the bigger side if he fought in that era in contrast with today where he is one of the smallest heavyweights.

Regarding Usyk's cruiserweight and heavyweight runs, I don't entirely agree that his fights at cruiserweight were more competitive. While Briedis was a tough matchup, Usyk largely dominated his opposition in that division. In contrast, at heavyweight, he’s fought bigger fighters with significant reach and weight advantages, such as Joshua and Fury that were he was not nearly as dominant against. These fights required him to expend more energy and effort to deal with the physical disadvantages he has as well as having to be more careful about his defense to avoid taking hard punches which at cruiserweight he can afford to take. Not to mention having to bulk up to be able to compete at heavyweight.

As for Bob Foster, you're right that he did have some success against bigger opponents, but his losses to heavyweights like Terrell and Frazier also show the challenges of stepping up in weight against elite opposition, particularly when size and durability become deciding factors while he was much better at light heavyweight which was his natural weight.

I agree with your point that size doesn’t always equate to skill, and a smaller, highly skilled fighter can outmatch a larger opponent with less skill. However, Usyk's success against today’s super heavyweights highlights his ability to overcome size disadvantages, which is no small feat given the modern heavyweight landscape. This ability wouldn’t diminish against smaller heavyweights of past eras, though those fights could present different stylistic challenges he has the skills and size to overcome most stylistic challenges that past heavyweights could give him.

Lastly, I do agree that age could be a factor in how Usyk’s performances are perceived now, but even at 37/38, his success at heavyweight is remarkable given the caliber and size of his opponents when other fighters at that age had fallen off he is still able to beat much younger fighters which is impressive.

 

Name one..........

 

Henry Armstrong

 

Name one at heavyweight I mean

 

Joe Louis beat fighters below and above 200 lbs when he was he was Champion. CW wasn’t around back then. Translated to today wouldn’t he be CW and HW Champion then?

 

That's not how that works and you know it but the fact you have to stretch that far just to prove your point says a lot thanks for admitting Usyk is special

 

Louis was knocking them out too.

 

Cool I'm glad your evaluation of a fighter is limited to how many knock outs they have truly shows your expertise at evaluating a fighters skills and resume.