Usyk looks jacked - Is he going for the KO?

Yeah, so did Whyte (1st time) and Parker, and they couldn't either. What exactly is that indicative of? He doesn't hit as hard as prime David Haye? Whoopty doo. Also, you are actually implying AJ has a Chisora like chin are you? The real question is, does Usyk hit as hard as Andy Ruiz? The likely answer is... yes.

 

Usyk looked like a million bucks against Chisora when compared to the performances of Whyte and Parker. The only thing he didn't do was get the KO. But Chisora is borderline impossible to KO, unless you have truly devastating power and even then it isn't easy. Also, Chisora, an aggressive swarmer, is the worst possible style for Usyk. AJ is not. AJ will be forced to be the aggressor which he isn't comfortable with, he's also not comfortable setting a blistering pace, due to the fact that he knows he'll gas and leave himself vulnerable. Usyk isn't easy to hit clean especially by lead-footed one two and uppercut artists. He's a fleet footed, defensively sound southpaw counter puncher, who's constantly moving. He's going to play it safe, not engage for the first few rounds, just flick out the jab. Then AJ will try to amp up the pressure, with little success, then Usyk will slowly step on the gas starting around round 5 or 6, start walking AJ onto some nasty straight lefts to the body and counter right hooks coming from awkward angles as he's pivoting away, most likely landing to AJ's temples along with persistent flush jabs to the jaw. Then AJ will start getting desperate, swinging and missing a lot in the 7th or 8th, then Usyk will reverse gears, slam on the gas and start moving forward, and aggressively but intelligently walk him down, peppering him with jabs, lunging straight lefts on the button and one twos, while doing those moves like Loma in and out of the side door, and maybe even occasionally in through the backdoor, creating plenty of angles which would give him plenty of openings to nail the big ox repeatedly in his glass temples. Eventually he'll get rocked, and Usyk with his blistering hand speed will unload, when AJ starts doing the clinched ass cheeks stiff legged "Aw Damn.... I Just **** My Pants" Shuffle, Usyk then brutally drops him, Bellew style, he'll somehow make it back up, even more gassed... at that point, frail AJ will be left a sitting duck and will only be able to take so much punishment, the ref will have finally seen enough, waves it... Usyk wins by late TKO.

 

Terrible one liner aside..... where is the actual irrefutable evidence of this?

 

Against a guy who's world class at parrying jabs, as much easier said than done..

 

Usyk had been inactive for 12 months going into the Chisora fight and had only fought once in just under 2 years (23 months) and that was against very late notice Witherspoon who obviously isn't world class and only came to shell up and survive. That fight wasn't even decent sparring.


Chisora just beat AJ's best win over a prime opponent in most people's eyes, including flooring him which AJ couldn't. Chisora also sparked Takam whereas AJ needed a highly controversial premature stoppage by the ref to get Takam out of there. If you think Joyce's stoppage of Takam was controversial (and it really shouldn't be considered such at all) then go check out AJ's over Takam.


And Chisora gives pretty much everyone major problems with that relentless aggression, teak-toughness, power, and size and physicality of his and he was essentially Usyk's real HW debut because, as said, Witherspoon only showed up to shell up and survive. Chisora isn't an easy out for anyone and even if you're a massive punching SHW behemoth it's almost impossible to keep him off of you and deter him from ploughing forwards and on top of that he had a 9 month camp to prepare for Usyk, and was in the best shape of his career and has clearly been hitting harder since he hooked up with Haye and actually started taking training seriously.

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Here's what AJ had to say about sharing a ring with Chisora 11 months prior to Usyk vs Chisora


"I watched the Chisora versus Price fight — I thought 'Why isn't Price controlling Chisora?' Joshua continued to share. "Then I sparred Chisora. The guy is strong, you know. He is no joke. And I give Dillian credit for dealing with him twice. To control Chisora over 12 or 11 rounds takes some doing."

Joshua tabbed Chisora for sparring sessions leading up to his rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr. in December, when he defeated the Mexican fighter via a lopsided unanimous decision to regain his unified world heavyweight titles.

Those sparring sessions ended in mutual respect between Joshua and Chisora.

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"Look at Derek's knockouts - they aren't when he lands five shots then the ref jumps in.

"Boom! Artur Szpilka.

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"Boom! Carlos Takam.

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"He hit them with one shot and knocked them out. You can see he carries one-shot knockout power."

--Anthony Joshua

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Hmm.. AJ seemed impressed by Chisora after sharing a ring with him just 11 months before Usyk did and says he's a difficult man to keep off of you for 12 rounds


''Usyk got hit too much in the Chisora fight''

OK, well I guess we should be praising his chin seeing as he ate some big shots off a very hard punching 255lb HW who was able to drop Parker and flatten Takam which is something AJ couldn't do in 22 rounds, right?

Usyk also ate big shots off Nistor in the WSB

That's the same Nistor who knocked AJ absolutely senseless and stopped him in the European championships

Usyk has fought tons of punchers and has only ever been dropped once am and pro AFAIA and that was from a body shot

He fought SHWs Majidov, Joyce, and Nistor in the WSB and he ate big shots off them all and took them no problem

Usyk ate loads of big shots off of Briedis

Weird how no HW in Charr's other 35 fights was able to ever do this to him, eh?

Even Povetkin who has one of the best KO HL reels of any HW in recent years and dynamite in both hands couldn't do that to him

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You ever seen AJ ever do that ^^^ to one of his opponents?

I know for a fact you haven't

I'm not saying AJ can't KO Usyk - any fighter who is that big and powerful is capable of knocking out anyone if they catch them them right. He might even be able to sleep him . However, Usyk clearly has a hell of a beard and has fought tons of punchers and many savage hitters.

 

Chris Arreola still to this day says the hardest he's been hit is by CW Level Gassiev in the gym. He said he hated sparring him

“The power he has shown me in the gym sparring against [heavyweights Dominic] Breazeale, Charles Martin, Gerald Washington, Chris Arreola, is very real,” Sanchez said. “All those guys, he’s been able to dominate and hurt. Once we get him to the heavyweight division and stabilize him at 225, 230, and put some muscle on those pounds, he’ll be very effective.''
-- Abel Sanchez

Which HW's ribs did Gassiev break in sparring?

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Timestamped

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''Ask any given sparring partner who’s been in there with him and they will tell you he’s a small heavyweight who fights like a big heavyweight.

“Murat Gassiev – that motherbeeeper hits hard,” heavyweight contender Chris Arreola said of his experience while training with the Russian banger in Big Bear, California.

The two worked in the same gym space for their recent training camps. Arreola was preparing for his December 12 showdown with Travis Kauffman, a fight he won by split decision. The final outcome was disputed, but Arreola’s energy at fight’s end was attributed to the work he put in during his time in Big Bear, also crediting Gassiev as one of the fighters who pushed him in the gym.

“He caught me in the ribs during one sparring session, I just never been hit like that before,” Arreola admitted. “This was a camp I was already determined to leave as a trim and ready fighter, but I knew I couldn’t half-ass it when he was there. Whenever I saw him in the gym when I arrived, I was like “Beep, not that guy again.” But he makes you work in the gym, he makes you a better fighter.”

'Here is another endorsement. World-class cruiserweight Ola Afolabi (who has sparred both Wlad and Vitali among other HWs) proclaimed that Gassiev is a certified assassin. “Probably the hardest puncher I’ve ever been in with,” said Afolabi, a pro since 2002 and a three-time cruiserweight title challenger ranked No. 10 by THE RING.'


S-JAM Boxing said he's the hardest puncher he's ever seen, and that he's seen him up close and personal in the gym and tapes of him doing bad things to top ten HWs in the gym ie. wrecking and sparking them. Just join the dots. S-JAM Boxing manages Joe Joyce, Joyce was trained by Abel Sanchez and he's obviously alluding to the footage he's seen in Sanchez's gym.

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Usyk hurt Chisora and Dave Allen who are both teak-tough and have two of the best chins in the division and clearly have better chins than AJ. Allen who has sparred hundreds of rounds with AJ, and also sparred Wlad, Fury, Whyte, Joyce, and many other top HWs and who fought Dillian Whyte and Luis Ortiz in his 10 and 11th pro fights and 20th and 21st ever fights and has never been down said the next thing he remembers after being cracked by that left hand from Usyk which knocked him senseless was being back in his dressing room. If Usyk was a featherfisted as many will have you believe then god knows what he would've done to Allen if he could punch a bit, eh?

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Not sure about that. I'd say Majidov hits harder than AJ

And AJ isn't really a one punch KO artist

If AJ fought Charr do you think he'd put him to sleep and if so why hasn't he ever put any of his other opponents to sleep and many of them aren't as durable as Charr

I'm not saying Briedis hits harder than AJ but I do have a point

Go ask Arreola if he thinks Fat Andy hits harder than Gassiev

Arreola has also fought big punchers like Vitali, The Tuscaloser, and Stiverne among others

FTR, I've never said AJ isn't capable of knocking Usyk out

I'm a realist and I know it's a very dangerous fight for Usyk due to the huge physical advantages AJ has over him

But if they were the same natural size Usyk would beat him 10 times out of 10 because he's the much better fighter and he has a much better chin P4P and he might even have a better one period