Rico is Not an Elite Boxer

Rico is certainly NOT an elite boxer. At 37, he's also not young, he's slow, has lots of wear & tear, and has no experience in a boxing ring. Yet he outboxed Usyk for 9 rounds. (before the bogus stoppage) So this where does that put Usyk? It's one thing if you get caught by a lucky haymaker. but completely outboxed? Overrated is the best description I can find. Usyk is overrated. if Usyk is overrated, then its fair to say the whole division is. But yeah, as you say, losing by KO is one thing, that could happen to anyone from a freak shot Getting outboxed by a kickboxer is bad when you're known for your great boxing ability. Fair enough if he outboxed Wilder or Wardley who are just looking for one punch all night but he's just outboxed Usyk and screwed by the ref lol

We know he isn’t but he just beat up an elite boxer. This is Fury v Ngannou all over again. Usyk made Rico look like a world class boxer which is exactly what Fury did with Ngannou. As soon as Rico gets in there with any of the world class heavyweights he’s getting KO’d within a few rounds.

Rico is certainly NOT an elite boxer. At 37, he's also not young, he's slow, has lots of wear & tear, and has no experience in a boxing ring. Yet he outboxed Usyk for 9 rounds. (before the bogus stoppage) So this where does that put Usyk? It's one thing if you get caught by a lucky haymaker. but completely outboxed? Overrated is the best description I can find. Usyk is overrated.

That's a fair point. AJ vs Ngannou was only going one way because AJ had a fight to study after Ngannou v Fury and they could find a way to land a big shot. If you want to be kind of Fury and Usyk, you could say they essentially went in blind with absolutely no idea what to prepare for with these guys acting as boxers . Still no excuse though, as I said, Federer could roll out of bed without training for a year and not have any problem against a Badminton or table tennis player. So it's kind of pathetic that supposed elite guys like Fury and Usyk are going life and death with fighters who aren't boxers. Lets just be honest about it. It's not a great look for boxing As the nature of badminton is based on how to shuttle reacts to external forces which is quite different from how a tennis ball on a court reacts. If you place a punch in either kickboxing or boxing there is no difference on how either punch behaves.

Yeah its not a great look tbh. Its one thing to say "okay Usyk (or Fury) would lose in kickboxing or MMA, but in boxing they cant be beat", but its something else when kickboxers and MMA guys are fighting them in straight up boxing and giving them hell. FWIW I do think the lack of power in both Usyk and Fury is a big part of it. There are guys that have lost to them who stylistically could probably handle Rico or Ngannou quicker because they can bäng. Its frustrating because these ****** crossover fights have no reason to happen in the first place. That's a fair point. AJ vs Ngannou was only going one way because AJ had a fight to study after Ngannou v Fury and they could find a way to land a big shot. If you want to be kind of Fury and Usyk, you could say they essentially went in blind with absolutely no idea what to prepare for with these guys acting as boxers . Still no excuse though, as I said, Federer could roll out of bed without training for a year and not have any problem against a Badminton or table tennis player. So it's kind of pathetic that supposed elite guys like Fury and Usyk are going life and death with fighters who aren't boxers. Lets just be honest about it. It's not a great look for boxing

Tell me one other sport, where the guy from the other sport can come and make it look competitive against top guy. How many rounds would Usyk last against Rico in kickboxing fight? How many games would a table tennis player win againat top 10 ranked tennis player in a tennis match? Yeah its not a great look tbh. Its one thing to say "okay Usyk (or Fury) would lose in kickboxing or MMA, but in boxing they cant be beat", but its something else when kickboxers and MMA guys are fighting them in straight up boxing and giving them hell. FWIW I do think the lack of power in both Usyk and Fury is a big part of it. There are guys that have lost to them who stylistically could probably handle Rico or Ngannou quicker because they can bäng. Its frustrating because these stupid crossover fights have no reason to happen in the first place.

we need AJ Same AJ that got plastered in MSG during his "coronation"? I think the "clear" lines of demarcation have been almost erased in the "Blue Bell" bullsh​​​it. The next "guy" in the HW division? 'Bout a torta away from losing to somebody that can slip a jab, and throw a overhand right.

Tell me one other sport, where the guy from the other sport can come and make it look competitive against top guy. How many rounds would Usyk last against Rico in kickboxing fight? How many games would a table tennis player win againat top 10 ranked tennis player in a tennis match? Multiple F1 drivers have gone on to wins Le Mans, Indy 500. Brock Lesnar, Holly Holm, Israel Adesanya won the UFC title. Bo Jackson in MBL and NFL. Eddie Eagan won Gold in the bobsleigh after boxing! Viv Richards in football and cricket. Just to make a few. It's hard, but hardly impossible.

Rico is not elite boxer but he is elite fighter. He is a huge guy with a great cardio and feet and has some weird combinations. If that was a K1 fight, Rico would have finished Usyk with one kick.

Tell me one other sport, where the guy from the other sport can come and make it look competitive against top guy. How many rounds would Usyk last against Rico in kickboxing fight? How many games would a table tennis player win againat top 10 ranked tennis player in a tennis match?

Stop with the cope. Usyk just lost to a kickboxer. Got outclassed, outboxed, beaten up, bullied and saved by the ref against a kickboxer.

He'll get beaten by a heavyweight who takes him seriously and now has 12 rounds of tape on him, just like Ngannou did.. Usyk just had his Ngannou v Fury moment. Came in 10lbs heavier than usual because he thought it was a money grab and forgot these guys are still fighters by trade. Rico is ok though. Showed he can stick to a game plan and good stamina. Physical strong too. You can do fairly well into today's HW division with those attributes. I thought Usyk looked the more tired of the two, which never happens.

Sure, sure, anything to not give credit

Rico is damn good but no, not elite. He's been training with boxers with Jo h n Fury as his trainer for over a decade. Damn good athlete, excellent stamina, can take a punch, changes his stance/arms/head very well; he confused the hell out of Usyk. he deserves a few more fights but at his age he's got only 3 or 4 fights remaining. And Usyk needs to seriously contemplate retirement unless he wants to end up like Joe Louis.

regardless, after that performance Usyk is no where near the P4P top p4p when a guy does not do as well as expected he goes down thats normal usyk himself will also know that very well

but he lost regardless, after that performance Usyk is no where near the P4P top

What fight were you watching? Rico outboxed Usyk for 10 rounds... LOL but he lost

Rico exposed the quality of the heavyweight division by getting knocked out by an old overweight champ? This is exactly what I mean about over hyping Rico, I have no doubt he will go the way of Nganou if he’s in there with another top boxer. What fight were you watching? Rico outboxed Usyk for 10 rounds... LOL

I don't think it was just age. Rico exposed the quality of the entire division. Ngannou went to split dec in his first pro fight vs Fury. Similar story. The HW div was always overhyped by the media, especially RING and cheerleaders like Kellerman. The truth is Usyk was not as great as most people thought. Rico exposed the quality of the heavyweight division by getting knocked out by an old overweight champ? This is exactly what I mean about over hyping Rico, I have no doubt he will go the way of Nganou if he’s in there with another top boxer.

I don't think it was just age. Rico exposed the quality of the entire division. Ngannou went to split dec in his first pro fight vs Fury. Similar story. The HW div was always overhyped by the media, especially RING and cheerleaders like Kellerman. The truth is Usyk was not as great as most people thought. same thing after ngannou then AJ stepped in and ended that talk we need AJ