Who is more skilled: Canelo or Usyk?

And Usyk was being outboxed for stretches of the fight by AJ in the rematch and by Fury on Saturday. Great fighters make adjustments against other great fighters and find ways to win. That's what Usyk did on Satuday and what Canelo has done throughout his career.

Usyk proved how great he is, beating Fury was his signature win. Canelo's proved how great he is throughout his career. If we were to compare their skills, Canelo has a deeper repertoire. Usyk is highly skilled as well though and does some things better than Canelo, but he's more basic and predictable at what he does. Canelo has fought in more dictinct syles. Like how he fought GGG the first time, or against Jacobs, off the back foot, making the opponent miss, setting traps. Usyk is very good at what he does, but Canelo is more diverse and more unpredictable as a fighter. Canelo is also a bigger and a more dynamic puncher P4P who is very skilled at surprising opponents with hooks and uppercuts from out of nowhere. Usyk doesn't have the punching technique Canelo has. Usyk is good at applying pressure with jabs and straights. Canelo is also better at setting traps than Usyk, and not just using head movement, but making opponents miss with head and upper body movement.

In conclusion, Canelo has showcased a vast amount of high level skill throughout his career. Usyk hasn't dazzled with his skillset like Canelo has. But that's not a knock on Usyk, Usyk is a highly skilled fighter and very effective at what he does, but his skillset just doesn't compare to the vast array of skills that Canelo possesses. And deep down, you all know that.

 

Usyk and it's not remotely close.

Usyk does what Canelo never has.

He fights the champ on their own turf, with no a side advantages. He goes in every single fight as the b side and takes the championship away from the favourite.

He's the goat. Canelo is not.

 

Usyk has never looked half as stupid, clumsy & clueless as Canelo did versus both Mayweather and Lara.

 

Usyk smashes fighters far bigger than him

Canelo smashes fighters far smaller than him

the end.

 

Yeah Canelo's never won the Cruiserweight or Heavyweight Champion. That doesn't mean he's more skilled lol. If we're comparing skills, there's really no comparison. What I would say is that the skills that Usyk has are very good, but he doesn't have the vast array of skills that Canelo has.

For example, ask yourself, who the better counter puncher?

Who is better at making people miss? Canelo has made far more skilled fighters than Usyk has faced look silly. (like the famous sequence against Jacobs)

Who is better at throwing hooks and uppercuts?

Usyk is more awkward than anything, with his southpaw stance, he has a better jab than Canelo I would say. Though I thought Canelo's jab was quite good against Munguia, he typically doesn't rely on it as much as Usyk. At his best Canelo has proved to be more elusive. Yes Canelo was hit a good amount by Munguia, but Canelo stood in the pocket all night trading with Munguia, and didn't use hardly any head movement.

Usyk was using a lot of head movement and still got hit with almost as many punches against Fury (according to Compubox 157) than Canelo was hit with against Munguia (170). Canelo landed an impressive 234 punches on Munguia, compared to Usyk who only landed 170 on Fury. According to Compubox, Canelo landed at higher % against Munguia than Usyk did on Fury, and Munguia landed at a much lower % on Canelo than Fury did on Usyk. And again, this was with Canelo using no head movement. Of course it's hard to compare the style of Munguia vs Fury, and Compubox doesn't exactly prove anything. But it is food for thought and something to consider.

I would give Usyk the edge in terms of jabs and straights, and also Usyk's determination when it comes to sustained aggression and finishing rounds strong. He's also better at conserving his energy to come on late in fights than Canelo. There are definitely aspects to his game that Usyk does better than Canelo, but overall Canelo has a more comprehensive skillset than Usyk. He's far more experienced at fighting different styles and higher IQ opponents. Canelo is more seasoned as a fighter and is more adept at tailoring gameplans to different styles.

That's just my take, feel free to disagree or make any counter points that you think are important.

 

It’s easy looking good against smaller guys. Most of Canelo’s biggest wins are against smaller guys. He beat one bigger guy, the ghost of Kov, an alcoholic shell of his former self but was dominated by Bivol, a guy who walks around at Canelo’s weight. He’s a good fighter but not in the league of Usyk. And Usyk has never been dominated like Bivol dominated Canelo. It was hard to watch and it’s no wonder Canelo is afraid to give him a rematch or fight him for his SMW belts. He knows what would happen.

Canelo fought one slightly bigger guy and got his ass kicked. Usyk just fought the biggest guy in boxing and overcame corrupt judges and ref to win the fight. Also, all of Usyk’s biggest wins were on the road or in his opponents back yard. Canelo has every advantage and often needs it. Usyk has no advantages going into fights and so far is undefeated. No comparison and I’m a fan of Canelo.

 

Canelo wasn't dominated by Bivol, and Usyk has never been in there with someone as good as Bivol. So it's a moot point.

Why did Bivol refuse to give Canelo a rematch at 175 if it was so easy?

He was outboxed by an elite boxer at a higher weight, was never hurt or in trouble.

Canelo moved up through many more weight classes than Usyk did. Usyk was outweighed by a lot against Fury, but weight disparities are different at Heavyweight. Fury is a Giant, Usyk is a small Heavyweight. I would say that Usyk is better at Heavyweight than Canelo was at Light Heavyweight. But at Middleweight and at Super Middleweight, Canelo is better.

Usyk deserves a ton of credit for what he accomplished against Fury. I take my hat off to him. I'm a fan of both Usyk and Canelo but if you're asking me who is more skilled, the answer is clear. But that's just my take. I respect those who say Usyk, but similarly to how wide some scored Usyk Fury, there's a good amount of posters overrating how good Usyk is, i.e. how dominant he was against Fury, or how high he should be ranked P4P.

My stance is that Usyk is damn good, just the fact that he beat Fury in the way he did, says a lot. But beating an "on the slide" Fury doesn't mean he deserves to be P4P #1. Usyk is definitely in the conversation, but if we're comparing performances, Canelo performed way better vs Munguia than Usyk did against Fury. And that's not a knock on Usyk at all.

 

Usyk is a level above Canelo in terms of skill, he's vastly more well rounded and doesn't have an obvious style flaw like Canelo has against movers.

Canelo is exceptional at what he does with his reflexes, head movement and counters. But his footwork has always been an issue for him, he isn't great at cutting off the ring which is why movers give him problems. Usyk in contrast might be the most effective pressure fighter with his footwork other than Loma and he's even better on the back foot.

 

Fair points. I would agree that Usyk's footwork against Fury was better than Canelo's footwork has been recently. But when Canelo was at Middleweight, namely aginast GGG the first time and against Jacobs, in those fights Canelo showcased way better footwork than Usyk ever has.

If we evaluate Canelo and Usyk based on how they have looked in recent fights, I'll agree that Usyk has better footwork, a better jab, and he's better at effectively pressuring an opponent and cutting off the ring. Canelo hasn't shown the sense of urgency that Usyk showed against Fury in a long time, probably since GGG 2.

But lets face it, Canelo has far better punch technique and punch accuracy than Usyk does. Don't get me wrong, Usyk is very accurate when he needs to be, but he's more basic as a punch and we really only see that accuracy when he has that sense of urgency, when he senses his opportunity. Canelo is an accurate puncher from bell to bell. He's more skilled at throwing hooks and uppercuts. Granted, Fury is stylistically difficult and more elusive than Munguia, but Fury is also not as elusive as he was at his peak. Canel is better at setting traps for opponents and timing them with big eye catching shots. Both are good at throwing body shots which is something they have in common. Though Usyk's achilles heel is receiving body shots. Usyk is much easier to hit and hurt to the body, that's an area of weakness for Usyk, that isn't a problem for Canelo.

 

Usyk
Shows how to adjust
Canelo just keeps doing the same game plan winning or losing.

 

I agree there is no comparison. Usyk is leagues ahead.

 

Don't forget Bivol

 

To each his own.

 

There's no way Usyk would get shut out by Floyd or Bivol.

 

There's no way Canelo would either. Reminder - Floyd won 116-112, 114-114, 117-111, and Bivol won 115-113 x3. And both had weight advantages over Canelo which helped them win. Despite Canelo being at a distinct disadvantage in both of those matches, both were very close highly competitive fights on the cards. That's in reality that is, in real life, not in your dream world.