Looks like slimming down was indeed a bad idea. Trying to outbox a boxer and throwing away your greatest advantage.
Rob McCrappen really is a terrible trainer, ever since Ruiz 1 they have tried to turn AJ into something he is not. AJ should just go in there and smash people, brute force your way to a victory over a cruiserweight.
To be fair, the skill gap was so huge that maybe even that wouldn't of helped.
At the first brute force attack usyk would have avoided and kicked back so badly that aj would have been ko'd even if they advised usyk not to send him down
Looks like slimming down was indeed a bad idea. Trying to outbox a boxer and throwing away your greatest advantage.
Rob McCrappen really is a terrible trainer, ever since Ruiz 1 they have tried to turn AJ into something he is not. AJ should just go in there and smash people, brute force your way to a victory over a cruiserweight.
To be fair, the skill gap was so huge that maybe even that wouldn't of helped.
Right, might not have worked either. You only get to try one strategy at a time. Maybe muscling would have worked; Usyk felt the body shots. But if AJ instead committed to big shots, Usyk might have just sidestepped and pieced him up that much more.
Agreed. He is good, not gteat, long way far from GOAT.
List of boxers from recent past (say last 30 years or so) who, IMHO, would have beaten AJ in their prime:
- Larry Holmes
- Mike Tyson
- Lennox Lewis
- Evander Holyfield
- Vitali K.
- Wladimir K.
- George Foreman
- Rid**** Bowe
- Tony Tucker
Also the following ones could've been very difficult foes for AJ:
- Corrie Sanders
- Lou Savarese
- Tommy Morrison
Today, apart from usyk, imo fury beats him 99 out of 100 and wilder is 50-50. A fit Ruiz can do that again and also Joyce can very well beat him. Perhaps also Michael Hunter. Among the prospects I see Yoka as a 60-40 for aj and ajagba and hrgovich as a 70-30 for aj.
I read the top part of the list and thought, "Wait. What about Morrison?" Ha. Agreed.
Joshua gave away his size and failed to out box Usyk. It all started with the Ruiz rematch, focusing on movement and boxing instead of doing what he did to become a champion: using his height and size to knock out his opponents. That advantage negates any other shortcomings when it comes to heavyweight boxing.
Usyk is still too small to compete with Wilder or Fury. Sure, he'll move and outbox them for a couple rounds, but eventually he'd get knocked out.
But did you say that about AJ too? I was rooting for Usyk, but AJ was a big risk for him. Aj was a decent champ (and there's too much hate for him here). Hypothetically, it could have gone the other way.
Obviously Usyk came hungry and handled business expertly. So I wouldn't discount him against Wilder for sure, and I wouldn't automatically say Fury gets him either. Fury holds some advantages and roughs up opponents, but Usyk's the new real deal and who knows, he might find a way to do it.
We'll let the man take some time off with his family and then, hopefully, he'll come back to finish some work with the real people waiting in line for their title shot.
Somehow Usyk-Wilder reminds me of Loma-Rigondeaux with similar result.
And Usyk-Fury should definitely be an eye ****** with the crazier guy pulling it off.
All props to Gypsy King in this arena, yet Usyk seems to dwell on another, deeper plain of craziness.
The look in his eyes when solidly hit by an opponent is disturbing
But did you say that about AJ too? I was rooting for Usyk, but AJ was a big risk for him. Aj was a decent champ (and there's too much hate for him here). Hypothetically, it could have gone the other way.
Obviously Usyk came hungry and handled business expertly. So I wouldn't discount him against Wilder for sure, and I wouldn't automatically say Fury gets him either. Fury holds some advantages and roughs up opponents, but Usyk's the new real deal and who knows, he might find a way to do it.
We'll let the man take some time off with his family and then, hopefully, he'll come back to finish some work with the real people waiting in line for their title shot.
Joshua lost a lot of mass. The Joshua who beat Martin and Klitschko would have beaten this version of Joshua. He's a good boxer but not a great boxer. What Joshua has is size and he needs to use that size to knock his opponents out.
I pick Joshua to beat Usyk in the rematch, provided he gains some weight, takes some heat and unleashes his power. Not sure how long it will take for his eye to heal...
Wilder and Fury are more athletic and fluid with their attacks. Wilder just has to touch him and it's lights out. Fury would use his reach and height to avoid Usyk's attacks and batter him.
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