Murat Gassiev's perspective at the heavyweight

Some observers see Murat Gassiev as a force to be reckoned with in heawyweight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCZmW4d8W08 Gassiev went 26-1 with 20 KOs in cruiserweight, losing only to Usyk by UD in their 2018 unification bout. Although his moving up was announced few years ago he had a long lay-off due to training injuries, and had his first HW bout only recently, in october '20. Won by 1st rd KO, as he was expected to do so vs veteran Nuri Seferi. More precisely, his first opponent in HW supposed to be Kingpin Johnson, which got repaced by Sefer Seferi due to some administrative/passport problems, but than Sefer got replaced by his older brother Nuri due to covid. Now, I can see some pros to his HW perspective: - still relatively young at 27 - has a real, solid power in both hands - can throw some vicious (body) hooks and overhand rights - decent speed and accuracy (this could show even more in HW) - good chin (tested to some extent by Dorticos and Lebedev) - is mentally strong, tough guy from North Caucasus (like Beterbiev, Ibragimov, and the lot of wrestlers/mma fighters) On the other hand, he was thoroughly outboxed by Usyk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNYsVGC2ay8 (with Gassiev having a hard time finding distance for most of the bout) - which revealed his lack of amateur experience/technical refinement, which leads us to the cons: - still relativly inexperianced (started boxing relatively late at 15/had very short amateur career with pro debut at 17) - has relatively short reach - 76″, which is below average even for the cruiserweight - not so great in cutting off the ring vs opponents with really good footwork - uses high guard for defence mostly, not much of a head movement - was 2 years off (had a shoulder injury which required surgery) - last, not really a disadvantage, but a fact that his chin hasn't been tested yet by a HW puncher - and that, considering him being a front foot/shorter reach fighter, will be tested soon enough should he face the likes of Joyce or Bakole, not to mention Joshua and Fury. IMO it would be interesting to see him first against - fellow prospects Yoka, Ajagba and Hrgović, or - fellow former cruisers like Hunter, and than, at some point, - to see how would he fare vs Usyk in HW. Please share your opinions, add to the pros/cons list.

Comments (7)

Really good analysis! Thanks man. In any case, I really, really like Gassiev. He's very exciting fighter to watch. He wont win them all, but he'll provide hours of entertainment for us in the future. Agree.

5y ago

TernceBudCharlo

straight up down no special affects

5y ago

Samokries

Gassiev is as dangerous as Usyk at that weight class but for different reasons. I think Gassiev could handle the punchers more while Usyk still handles guys like Hunter the same as he fought him at Cruiserweight. Hrgovic is a boxer puncher standing 6”6 . I would stay away from him right now if he doesn’t already get a title shot . The heavyweight division is massively competitive right now ,Gassiev should sit back and see who is last man standing from the scene after 2021 and take safe fights ,he has a name and reputation. Plenty of time to grow himself based on suggested age he is . If they aim to establish him as a serious contender before he's 30, they shouldn't do more than 2 of such tune-up fights this year, then start to work his way up, maybe vs 1 or 2 of the older (beatable) top 20 guys, and by the end of the next year, if everything goes well, face some of the top 10. You are right that he should stay away from the likes of Hrgović for now.

5y ago

SNPER

Gassiev was that one kid in your 8th grade math class who had a full beard, chest hair, and a voice that was lower than the teacher's voice. The age isn't a lie, he just has a huge amount of natural testosterone.

5y ago

j0zef

Really good analysis! He is definitely short and doesn't have the reach. He also doesn't have the head movement. If he developed better head movement and a bit more boxing fundamentals, he could be a Mike Tyson light (1980s version). Unfortunately, he's wasted majority of the last few years. Dorticos was a chin check that he passed, Lebedev was a good gut check, and he got thoroughly dominated by Usyk. At HW, he needs to show significant defensive improvement to be a legit player. Like Arreola said, he's a strong guy with excellent power, at CW or HW. But he needs to overcome deficiencies at HW to land his shots, which will be highly unlikely. In any case, I really, really like Gassiev. He's very exciting fighter to watch. He wont win them all, but he'll provide hours of entertainment for us in the future.

5y ago

Satir

Gassiev is as dangerous as Usyk at that weight class but for different reasons. I think Gassiev could handle the punchers more while Usyk still handles guys like Hunter the same as he fought him at Cruiserweight. Hrgovic is a boxer puncher standing 6”6 . I would stay away from him right now if he doesn’t already get a title shot . The heavyweight division is massively competitive right now ,Gassiev should sit back and see who is last man standing from the scene after 2021 and take safe fights ,he has a name and reputation. Plenty of time to grow himself based on suggested age he is . Men from that area, Caucasus, start shaving (if ever) at the age of 16, being hairy doesnt say much about their age

5y ago

SNPER