Usyk looks tiny compared to AJ

[tritium_arma]

I don't know what happened to Usyk this past year. He looks old enough to be Joshua's dad. Damn..

Every time I saw his pics within the last couple of weeks, I wondered what was going on with him aging soooo fast. Big Usyk fan here, the only heavyweight I actually care about. Maybe it's my eyes!

It's the hair cut. Bald people look older, except Floyd oddly enough.

[billeau2]

Joe Joyce is the same size as Anthony Joshua.

Half the people that post do not know Usyk fought Joyce lol.

[Frankie Coffeecake]

Half the people that post do not know Usyk fought Joyce lol.

It's just not relevant, while both are good super heavyweights there is a vast difference between the two.

Joyce is a trundling juggernaut, one paced he chugs forward and puts shots together with little concern for what's coming back, he's durable and knows it, but lacks any speed and doesn't have concussive power with single shots.

Joshua is almost the exact opposite, the only similarities really are their height.

As well as this the WSB is what 6 rounds?

Of course you'd think Usyk would have a decent shot against Joyce over 6 rounds, look at the styles. I'd favour a lot of fighters to be able to decision Joyce over 6 rounds, but at 12 rounds? Hmm not so much.

How does it relate to facing Anthony Joshua over 12 rounds?

It's like saying "well Povetkin ktfo David Price and he's even bigger than Joshua so Joshua will be an easy fight" I mean it's not quite that absurd but you get what I'm saying.

[jaded]

Half the people that post do not know Usyk fought Joyce lol.

Or that he won a Heavyweight gold medal in the 2012 Olympics.

[billeau2]

It's just not relevant, while both are good super heavyweights there is a vast difference between the two.

Joyce is a trundling juggernaut, one paced he chugs forward and puts shots together with little concern for what's coming back, he's durable and knows it, but lacks any speed and doesn't have concussive power with single shots.

Joshua is almost the exact opposite, the only similarities really are their height.

As well as this the WSB is what 6 rounds?

Of course you'd think Usyk would have a decent shot against Joyce over 6 rounds, look at the styles. I'd favour a lot of fighters to be able to decision Joyce over 6 rounds, but at 12 rounds? Hmm not so much.

How does it relate to facing Anthony Joshua over 12 rounds?

It's like saying "well Povetkin ktfo David Price and he's even bigger than Joshua so Joshua will be an easy fight" I mean it's not quite that absurd but you get what I'm saying.

well Frankie can I whisper a little secret in your ear? I don't think it is relevant either...But if people want to obsess over "size" and how it is perceived as such an important variable in these fights where cruisers come up... well... lets be consistent and realize Usyk has done size! When people actually take the time to look and historically read about cruiser fights, they may be suprised to find that size was never a major issue as to determining a cutoff point where a cruiser simply could not fight on...

Holly fought well against Bowe and when he won it was because he boxed. Tyson who blew Spinks out of the proverbial water, was not a big heavyweight, sure he was a natural heavyweight (more on that in a moment), compared to Spinks, but they were sized relatively similar. And Toney was the very definition of a blown up Middle weight when he was competitive and arguably beat the burley Sam Peter, etc...

Toney in particular proves that not being a naturally large fighter, vis a vis, not a "natural" heavyweight (whatever that is) means little to nothing. So the fact that Joshua is naturally bigger in the bones than Usyk is a bit of a strawman... Usyk has never been down that I know of, and like so many is a man who has a medium built frame, and not a large frame.... The fact that George Foreman weighed what Usyk weights is another fallacy because it does not matter. Foreman was a naturally bigger man, bigger bones, wrists, back, shoulders, neck, legs... Usyk is I guess an "unnatural" heavyweight? But what of it? the biggest punchers are not the biggest heavy weights anyway!

Joshua is not the opposite of any fighter because Joshua, who is very talented indeed, is yet to define what makes him, or if anything makes him, a heavyweight that did more than beat the best competition consistently in a weak era. Is he going to be the Joshua we saw against Ruiz, and have the ability to make Usyk pay in a battle where both men box? Is he going to be a big puncher, who strives to get Usyk cornered (figuratively, more like Louis did to Conn, than literally against the ropes) and then hit with a shot that makes Usyk learn that there are levels to this heavyweight thing? How can anyone really know?

So, size is relevant to the extent that people want to not look at the actual fights, and assume that Joshua has size as an advantage. Joshua's real advantage is his excellent punching ability... and it is a question of whether Usyk can neutralize it, or not. History is clear on this: Was Archie Moore smaller than Marciano? when he challenged? Was Foster smaller than Frazier? Tunney was not much different in weight than Dempsey... Michael Moore came up and did most of his fighting as a cruiser and he beat Holly who was not bigger than Moore. and Tyson was not bigger than Holly when Holly won those fights...

[billeau2]

Or that he won a Heavyweight gold medal in the 2012 Olympics.

Didn't he also fight as a "super heavyweight as well?" And why did no one seem to mention size regarding Haye? could it be because Haye was a puncher? Size is a straw man for this fight... The real issue is that Joshua is defining his style and has to be a bigger puncher than Usyk, not physically bigger.

[jaded]

Is he going to be the Joshua we saw against Ruiz, and have the ability to make Usyk pay in a battle where both men box?

Ruiz in the rematch was not the same guy at all who KO'd Joshua...he had been enjoying the fruits of his victory and came in much the worse for it. I don't really think it was as much the improved boxing skills of Joshua as it was the degenerated condition of Ruiz that made the big difference.

In any event, I posted that video so people could see that Usyk did not look "tiny" as the OP he stated against Joyce, nor will he against Joshua. It should be the fight of the year (at least thus far in the year) and I'm pretty stoked to see it.

[jaded]

Didn't he also fight as a "super heavyweight as well?" And why did no one seem to mention size regarding Haye? could it be because Haye was a puncher? Size is a straw man for this fight... The real issue is that Joshua is defining his style and has to be a bigger puncher than Usyk, not physically bigger.

That fight against Joyce was at Super Heavyweight.

[Cypocryphy]

It's the hair cut. Bald people look older, except Floyd oddly enough.

Oh no. Floyd looked older. For sure. Money Mayweather aged a decade. He should have stayed away from that HGH.

[billeau2]

Ruiz in the rematch was not the same guy at all who KO'd Joshua...he had been enjoying the fruits of his victory and came in much the worse for it. I don't really think it was as much the improved boxing skills of Joshua as it was the degenerated condition of Ruiz that made the big difference.

In any event, I posted that video so people could see that Usyk did not look "tiny" as the OP he stated against Joyce, nor will he against Joshua. It should be the fight of the year (at least thus far in the year) and I'm pretty stoked to see it.

Regarding Joshua and Ruiz, its certainly a fair point... Its analogous to when we look at a fighter like Edgar Berlanga and someone says "he has KO'ed all his opponents!" and someone else pipes up "yeah all tomato cans have gone down." Point being, we can't fault Berlanga, or, for that matter, Joshua, for being on point. But there certainly is truth that in both cases, there were other conditions involved.

If you look at Usyk... playing basketball for example, it is evident he has a medium built frame. I can take a Toyota Previa (very light) and put a super charger in there..(that is what Toyota did!) and man that thing flies! and to a degree I can continue to improve the medium sized 4 cylinder in there for purposes of speed (if I am bored lol). But ultimately if I really want speed like a smaller boxer wants mobility, I am better off with a 150cc scooter which will fly despite the small engine. And I can't turn the Previa into a muscle car... Usyk could weigh a lot and pack on muscles on muscles and he would never be built like George Foreman (who people compared his weight to).

So, no... Usyk does not look "tiny" and I will never use the loaded term "natural heavyweight" a true misnomer if there ever was one... When they scientifically analyzed the ultimate way to build a person up, it was found that when the bones fracture repeatedly, and often, they grow back much stronger... and some people have very strong bone density... I think it was Chavez who took an Xray and his head was like much thicker than the average person... the bone structure, which supports the weight is what enables us to develop a frame capable of handling a heavy load.

Take Fitzzimons, who at 168 beat Corbet for the heavyweight title with a shot to the plexus (back when gloves were such you could punch accurately). If you looked at the guy, he was a light weight from the feet to his waist, and a heavyweight from the waist up lol. An unnatural heavyweight? lol.

The reason I think Usyk wins this is because he did put the weight on responsibly and did understand the need to make adjustments after the Chisora fight. To me that shows he knows what to do to beat Joshua.