Is Usyk slowing down?

[billeau2]

Don't get me wrong, he was still far too quick and agile for AJ to handle, and pretty much everyone else for that matter, but to me he didn't look as fast as he did in the last fight..

Obviously his preparation was hampered due to the war but the man is 35 with a style that relies heavily on his movement, and legs are always the first thing to go

Thoughts?

Maybe... It occurs to me that we got to see more of usyk and put him under the proverbial "microscope" that many of us like to look through. Speaking for myself? Before this fight I had no concept of what a Fury Usyk fight would look like, but after? I feel like this would be an easy fight for Fury.

What I saw from Usyk was the limitations of his toolkit. He used it to great effect and showed greatness for sure but Usyk really has habits that come from his training background that would get him mollywoped against Fury. Its not that he was a mystery before, but this fight verified many attributes about Usyk.

I saw Usyk make major adjustments after Chisora... I saw how he was dominating and a physical fighter at Cruiser... I saw how he used his lateral movement and timing... and he gets hit a lot. He will never get to Fury.

[NC Uppercut]

Dude is at the age where age starts to show in reflexes and the like. Still like the fact that ha has the Fury option, if Fury is up to the task. He still moves like a lhw around the ring though. I just think, aside from round 9, that he has enough angles and movement to trouble “most all”. He just showed a bit of vulnerability in 9, so we shall see! TBD….

[_Rexy_]

Absolutely! When Usyk was moving all around, feinting, bobbing and weaving, AJ should have targeted the more stationary body more. He should have also thrown more jabs even if they didn't land, to give Oleksandr something else to think about.

Once he stopped snapping the jab and started lazily pawing it was over. He started to get countered over the top every time, and then he started second guessing everything.

[Mammoth]

Maybe juuuust a little but how many punches did he throw Saturday? Was a **** ton. He also made a clean sweep on the championship rounds so his age isn'teffecting his conditioning. Head movement looked phenomenal and he's nowhere near having to tweak his style due to his feet slowing down.

[mrbig1]

I think you're confusing what Joshua actually did in the 9th with what I suggested he could have done earlier. He went to the body in the 9th, then when he saw Usyk was hurt, AJ went for the KO, spending himself. I suggested he should have invested in body shots to Usyk earlier, but not necessarily go all out trying to KO him then. A gradual breakdown of the body would have weakened Oleksandr and slowed him down for later in the fight.

No doubt. Body shots are money in the bank. a real champion who is tired has to dig deep and use that championship heart. AJ is a shot fighter. It's over dog.

[SUBZER0ED]

No doubt. Body shots are money in the bank. a real champion who is tired has to dig deep and use that championship heart. AJ is a shot fighter. It's over dog.

He's too young to be shot, unless he suffers a total mental breakdown and doesn't recover.

[mrbig1]

He's too young to be shot, unless he suffers a total mental breakdown and doesn't recover.

That's what I mean. The problem is in his head.

[SUBZER0ED]

That's what I mean. The problem is in his head.

Man, I hope you're wrong. He's got to get it together.

[mrbig1]

Many fighters never fully recover from a KO. Bute is another one of those fighters. The way he looked after the last knock down to Ruiz. It seems he just quit. I hope I'm wrong too. I've just seen it too many times over the years.

[_Rexy_]

Many fighters never fully recover from a KO. Bute is another one of those fighters. The way he looked after the last knock down to Ruiz. It seems he just quit. I hope I'm wrong too. I've just seen it too many times over the years.

Bute just wasn’t as good as he was promoted to be. It’s why he was kept out of the Super Six