Usyk Better Than Holyfield? That is Insane

I honestly don't think he was on anything yet at cruiser, or at least hadn't been cycling on anything for long enough to get any transformative benefit and see an enhancement of his performance.

Claiming he was seems not only to ring false, but unnecessary. If people want to undermine his CW run, or at least bring it down to earth again, one shouldn't have to resort to such parlor trickery in backdating his obvious culpability at HW to extend to his 200lb campaign. One merely needs to look at his achievements there in the sober light of day without the nostalgia goggles.

Dwight Braxton was a good fighter, but not some demonic h2h beast the likes of which this mortal realm shall never again see for a thousand years. Beating him twice doesn't an eternally untouchable CV make. Throw in CDL and slightly well-done (at best, cooked medium-well with barely any pink left in the middle) Ocasio and you have a fine pioneering ATG run in a nascent division (then just a decade old) that understandably stood as the greatest in the class for a generation or two. What the Holy chauvinists need to realize, however, is that time will not stand still, however much they may wish it to.

Usyk has come along with a CV and h2h "eye-test" abilities that quite reasonably can be ranked at least as highly as Holyfield's, if not slightly above IMO. Now, you can reasonably disagree that Usyk is a greater cruiser, but you can't dismiss or ridicule the idea ...just as I don't think Usyk fans can think it unreasonable if someone felt Holyfield was still holding out by a nose, or abreast Usyk as co-GOATs. What is to be ridiculed and dismissed on either side is saying they aren't more or less neck & neck, with the pair of them far afield the rest of the pack (including Haye, Mormeck, Adamek, Camel, Bell, etc) or that either would be unfit to carry the other's jockstrap head to head.

 

Uysk beats Thompson in his first pro fight.

 

Educate yourself sonny.

 

I have no evidence whatsoever to support this, but I also don't think Holy was on Peds at cruiser. I think he took them to bulk up for HW, where he was a fairly small HW, let's be honest.

 

He really wasn't, though.

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/evander-holyfield-small-heavyweight.241945/

People have been pumping up that "Holyfield the underdog" narrative for decades now, and it has always been a load of crap. He didn't cheat to level the playing field. There's no exculpating motive. He cheated because he's a cheater. Period.

 

Just read that. It's a fair post. Probably he's seen as small because of some of his opponents like Bowe and Foreman, who were a fair chunk bigger.

 

It's just the age we live in. Usyk not even better than Dwight Braxton or James Toney

 

Usyk toys with Haye.

 

Prime CW Haye was a level or 2 above a guy like Breidis who arguably deserved a draw against Usyk. Have to give Haye the edge there.

 

the CW David Haye is ridiculously overrated by know-nothings like you. His CW run consists of two top rated CW's, Maccarinelli and Mormeck... that's it!

 

I liked watching Mormeck fight and think prime Haye would of made for great match ups with both.

 

...yeah, Le Tireur D'élite was fun to watch.

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He made the same mistake that Adamek, Haye and other cruiser greats have made, however - jumping up to HW (a division where honestly none of them ever belonged) to chase the money when past their primes. Holyfield managed, and I suspect Usyk will manage to carry out a successful HW campaign for two reasons: Holyfield and Usyk both moved up smack in the middle of their primes, and, I suspect, are both just on a higher level than any of those other guys.

 

Hell no! SMH

 

Very objective post.

 

And still get robbed on the cards