Heavyweights just can't deal with it. He's a small Heavyweight with speed and a great engine. Never stops moving. Has great technique and precision. But the kicker is the Southpaw stance. That stance from a small HW changes everything. The whole game changes at that point. The huge Heavyweights are made to look stiff, uncoordinated and confused. It befuddles and renders them ineffective. They are all accustomed to seeing a massive stiff orthodox fighter. They aren't used to a smaller southpaw. He moves like Middleweight in the ring and punches like a Cruiserweight. Usyk would still be a good Heavyweight if he was orthodox, but the Southpaw stances makes him a great Heavyweight, even giving up so much size.
Problem for Usyk is his style of boxing has always been about drawing opponents or slowly pressuring them till they fold....heavyweights cannot be messed with like that. He saw a big prime steak in AJ and got it but if he finds the bears cave he will not get out alive. But that aside it will take one of big boys of this era to properly show the world how to big man him and there's no shame in that given he is a natural cruiser. It's really now a question of if it will happen and when not ignoring the fact so many men in the division are a step away from retirement Usyk included. AJ can do it but Usyk will need to make a few missteps which he did a few times in their first bout when not under duress.
Yup. Speed. Stamina. Workrate. Arsenal. Defense. Chin. Southpaw stance. And....underrated power. Ask Tony Bellew and Marco Huck, the two guys who pissed him off, how hard he hits. Or ask Chisora in the 7th, Hunter in the 12th, and Joshua in the 12th. He shows it when he wants to. Many have said that the right hook is his best weapon. I like that straight left. What a package. As for the comment that he is a "natural cruiser," he's got the same dimensions as Ali and came in at what, around 220 last time? Fine as a heavy.
Usyk's southpaw stance is why it's hard to pick any CW/HW over him with confidence. Holyfield was the first to fight a few good southpaws (though Moorer, Byrd and Sultan were not natural HW's) and his record against them was 1-3. The Klitschko's, especially Wlad, fought and beat the most but Vitali lost to Byrd and Wlad got blown out by Sanders. Top heavyweights of the past had minimal southpaw experience and would in most cases be like fish out of water against a great southpaw boxer.
