Usyk is not fighting anyone except Fury and AJ at HW

Take a look at the second guy from the left in my avatar photo. Yeah, that's a full head of hair. The ladies love it. Not that you'd know what a lady would like.

 

What else is Usyk’s options though?

I think Fury, reluctantly, will do away with Usyk in the rematch pretty easily.

 

I think you have to look at Usyk career as the full package.. total amateur and professional dominance in a four belt era over two weight divisions. A P4P and H2H ATG over simply being an ATG heavyweight.

 

Lennox beat a past it Evander. That's the only great he beat. What about Holmes? What great fighter did he beat in their primes? Sometimes greatness is just body of work. I kind of agree that Usyk isn't great at HW yet. Just too few fights.

 

Top 30-40 p4p great
Top 15 HW

Great career

Edit
H2h he is way better than 15 and maybe in time I could have him 20-30 p4p which is amazing

 

Not neccesarily.

If Fury or Joshua, most likely Joshua, has a great run and finishes high, then Usyk is always going to be that guy who beat them, maybe twice.

To me it is a really weird idea that has taken off that quality beats quality, and I think it comes directly from guys tying to push people like Holmes and WladKlit who just never really had the big opponents. Sure, Holmes had 20 title defenses, but his best opponents were 35 year old Norton, and 12 fight novice Tim Witherspoon. I like Fury and Joshua better, although, in fairness, there is some context with Fury, too.

Don't get me started about Wlad. Some good guys on his resume, but he dwarfed them all to the point where it just never looked quite fair.

Throw Tyson in there. I think the guy had great talent, but 38 year old Holmes and a bunch of drug addicts is hardly the resume some make it out.

And on and on. In five fights at heavy, Uysk has proven that he is the best heavy of the post-Klit era, probably since Lennox Lewis. It is to his credit, not detriment, that it took him only a handful of fights.

Last word on this...Uysk changes his plans interview to interview. Let's let things play out.

 

That someone is named Joe Parker. I think Uysk wins, but Joe has earned a chance.

 

There is something to this...

 

In case you haven't noticed...

1) The sport is undergoing a major Saudi Arabian renaissance, and...

2) It has been around since the dawn of time...it waxed and wanes in popularity pretty regularly, but it never goes away and always comes backs. Boxing will be fine. MMA and the other combat sports are great, but there is something primordial about watching two guys settling things with their fists.

 

i agree that quality beats quantity. However, i do think quantity does expose you to a broader range of styles and some styles will cause more problems than others. For example, had Ali not fought Ken Norton, many wouldn't realize just how tough a challenge Norton would have posed for Ali.

Usyk is fantastic and i am so glad he has shown himself to be the best heavy of his era. I don't want him to fight too long. I hope he retires. That being said, a hard hitting giant fellow southpaw like Zhang would pose different problems than guys like Fury and Joshua. Now i am confident that Usyk would beat Zhang.

That being said, if you are exposed to a wide range of styles, especially at heavyweight where one punch can change the trajectory of a fight, it shows how outstanding you are. Ali fought slick boxers like Jones, Terrell and Young, cross armed pressure fighter in Norton, hard hitting sluggers like Shavers and Lyle, a master pressure fighter in Frazier, a force of nature in Foreman, a master boxer-puncher in Liston, a left hook specialist in Cooper, a decent southpaw in Mildenberger, a well rounded boxer in Bugner etc. The range of styles he beat are just stunning but also exposed his weaknesses.

Usyk is a great great fighter. And the best heavy of his era. I actually don't blame him at all for wanting to retire. Its not his fault Fury delayed the fight for 2 years. That being said, if he was 5 year younger, i would have loved to see him fight Zhang, Kabayel, Parker, Bakole, even up and coming guys like Huni and Jalolov. He might beat them all but i do think the broad range of styles would likely lead to some of the fights being very tough.

At heavy, he has beaten a terrific super heavyweight boxer-puncher in Joshua and probably the best moving super heavy in Fury. Add the win over a hard hitting big man like Dubois and you have 4 magnificent wins. But if you don't include cruiserweight, has he fought as broad a range of styles at hw as some of the other ATG'S? Probably not. Not his fault of course but it makes ranking him a top 10 all time heavy to be quite hard.

That being said, i am convinced he would match up well h2h vs past atg heavies.

 

The timing has just been really fortunate that boxing is entering a duff period at the exact moment the world economy turns to crap AND Saudi's are buying all sports...but either way the boxing talent and stars aren't coming through right now so the Saudi's will be pretty bored within 2/3 years I'd say. Can they do enough in the next couple of years that they are the base for hosting new stars? I don't think so. You need that American capitalist Jake Paul energy to become a star or be an ugly ginger midget named Canelo who isn't really that much of a draw anyway.

 

Still dead as a doornail in the United States. Not the least bit relevant.

 

When you die nothing matters, including legacy.

 

I think you might be surprised. Boxing is becoming more international every day, and they might find those stars in places you never thought of.