Usyk's odds vs each of the Big Three?

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by andrewa1, Dec 10, 2018.



  1. andrewa1

    andrewa1 Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    Disappointing to hear he may stay down at CW, but assuming he goes up to HW in time to face them all, how do you see him doing against the Big Three? Assess how each fight would go; who gives him the most trouble and who would give him the least trouble.

    Background: I think AJ beats Wilder, loses to Fury, and that Wilder stylistically poses more threat to Fury than AJ does. That said, I would have Usyk the underdog against all three, but I suspect AJ might be his best shot for an upset. AJ v Parker is the blueprint. That was a much closer fight than many credit it. And while Usyk may be more aggressive and take more risks than Parker, if his chin and body hold up, it wouldn't shock me if he could pull off the upset. AJ gives up his height against shorter fighters much more than Wlad ever did. He doesn't use his jab super effectively and not the best controlling distance. He hasn't needed to at this point, but it may come back to bite him sometime. Sasha, Parker, Whyte, all the high level guys significantly shorter than him landed on him without too much problem.

    Close behind AJ as far as Usyk scoring an upset for me would be Wilder. But I just can't see Wilder not landing on him at some point, and I can't see him surviving. Fury v Wilder was a perfect illustration of size and movement foiling the one shot specialist (most of the time). But Wilder can use his size, when he has an advantage, much better than AJ. Not in boxing, of course, that's not what he does. But in connecting with his home run. The only real promising example for Usyk would be Spilzka. Spilzka is clearly a much lesser boxer than Usyk. But a brutal ko in 9 against a negative, movement based fighter offering fewer opportunities is a less compelling corollary to me than a 12 round decision win over a negative, movement utilizing fighter that was much closer than the cards indicate. Usyk will have to take more risks than either Spilzka or Parker to win on the cards. Maybe Usyk survives the 12 rounds to beat Wilder, but I'd like his chances a bit better against AJ.

    I'd give him the lowest chances against Fury. Both are movement based. But Fury is 5 inches and 40 pounds heavier. Fury has been low volume against Wlad and Wilder, respecting their power and utilizing non punching activity level to lower their output. But he's the ultimate game planner, and historically he's been very high volume when it suits him. I see him as dishing out a huge volume against Usyk, being unafraid of Usyk's power, and scoring a fairly dominant 12 round decision. This one would shock me by far the most out of the three potential matches if Usyk was able to win.

    Any way you slice it, Usyk's entry would be a great addition and make for a much more exciting division. Hopefully the rumors of him staying in the CW division are wrong and we see him matched up with all three of these guys at some point to put it to the test.
     
    mark ant likes this.
  2. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    I feel he would have a great shot at all of tem and Fury`s power would bother him the least out of the 3.
     
  3. It's Ovah

    It's Ovah I'm your huckleberry, that's just mah game Full Member

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    Usyk absolutely dominates Wilder and beats him wide on the cards. I felt that way before the Fury fight and I feel it even more strongly now. The only way Wilder wins is the same way he got a draw against Fury - blatantly crooked judging and a knockdown or two to sweeten the corruption. I don't think he gets even a single knockdown on Usyk to be honest.

    Joshua vs Usyk needs more data before I can predict it better. How Usyk does against someone like Breazeale or Whyte would go a long way to improving our understanding of the types of problems Joshua might pose for him.

    Usyk vs Fury is the most interesting fight of the lot, and one that I hope we can see at some point in the near future. I'd pick Fury right now based on his size and reach, but if anyone could potentially outbox Fury it's Usyk.
     
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  4. Willie Maeket

    Willie Maeket Make the Cold War great again. Full Member

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    We have to wait and see. Usyk has a tendency to get in the trenches when he doesn't have to. He literally a athletic freak, the man does gymnastics and such but he can go caveman at times and its not his forte'. I will wait to see him actually fight a real heavyweight before I give or take away any props. I don't see him trying to go toe to toe at heavyweight like he does at cruiser aka baby heavyweight.
     
    mirkofilipovic likes this.