Is Usyk P4P #1 now?

[crimsonfalcon07]

I'd say Usyk, Crawford and then Inoue. The size difference alone between Usyk and Fury proved his style can disrupt other fighters regardless of weight difference. I think that is what P4P should really be. If your style can defeat others, regardless of weight.

Here's the issue... Skill for skill, if you shrink Fury down to another division, especially 118 or 147, based on his skills, does he actually even win a belt, let alone beat Inoue or Crawford? Every accolade I've ever seen for him says stuff like "agile/elusive etc FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT" Heavyweight is not a particularly skilled division. Heavyweight boxers regularly make technical mistakes that would never fly at the top level in other divisions.

I don't think Fury, based on his skills, does better than winning a vacant title absent his physical advantages. We've already seen how poorly things go for him when he's up against someone who he can't bully with size. Now we've also seen him lose to a much smaller guy. Put him, same weight class, skill for skill vs Chocolatito. How does that fight go? That's the difficulty with applying P4P in such a way here. Heavyweights don't do well, because what makes heavyweight what it is, tends to be a lot more just being the class with no weight limits and so many guys who are so big that they can stop you with one punch, or do serious damage leading to a TKO if they catch you. Nobody at heavy is really truly pillow-fisted.

[crimsonfalcon07]

Ok, finally had some time to sit down and watch it. Was honestly pretty easy to score. 1-3 to Usyk, 4-6 to Fury, 8-11 to Usyk with a 10-8. 7 was even, and 12 was pretty close too, but even if I give the benefit of the doubt to Fury, Usyk still wins. 114-113 Fury is absurd.

A few thoughts. Heck of an adjustment by Fury in 4. He was getting touched up and then made a great adjustment and took over. Then a great counter adjustment by Usyk in 7, stopping the momentum, then reversing it to that huge round 9. Fury's recovery powers are just flat out ridiculous. In that one category at least, he's elite. The way he came back from the KD's vs Wilder, and now Usyk, is insane. He was badly hurt, and then back in it enough to survive and recover the next round, even if he loses it, then able to be competitive again, and even potentially win 12. Usyk's gas tank, especially,at 37 years of age, is really really impressive. People talked about Fury's jab, but it wasn't frequent enough to make a difference against the pressure and pace that Usyk set. He really had to work for that win. Masterful performance, but the kind of grind that makes me wonder how many more times he can do it. Fury had some very good body work and one hellacious uppercut. Usyk has a heavyweight chin for sure.

That was an impressive win for sure, and Fury did rise in my estimation in that with the work he did in 4-6. But I still don't think Fury is good enough to merit the accolades he's had previously. I would pick AJ to stop him, currently. He probably retires then, before he loses to the likes of Parker, maybe even Kabayel, who keeps showing up and showing out. Kabayel, Itauma, and Parker may have some great fights in the future. I hope they make those fights. But I don't think Fury, or Wilder, end up finishing out this generation looking all that great. I think they will end up looking like guys who rode cherry picking and hype to the top, and eventually got exposed.

It's very clear, IMO, and as I've thought this whole time, that Usyk is the best heavy and cruiser of the era, a true generational great. But we've been blessed with 3, maybe 4 truly special talents who have a chance to stake a claim to ATG status in this generation (where will you all rank Loma if he runs the field at 135 again, and retires undisputed or unified against the current crop of champs?). Again, my prevailing thought is that I'm really happy to be a boxing fan in this era and get to witness the talented fighters we've got today.

[JOITATS]

Fair point, but how confident are you that Crawford or Inoue would beat somebody 40 pounds heavier than themselves? And we are not talking about a clumsy giant Valuev type of fighter.

You can't compare it that way. 40lbs is revelant to wgt class.

Wgt classes exist based on body mass vs body fat percentage.
Obviously the heavier the wgt class, the less wgt ratio becomes important.

[RJJ-94-02=GOAT]

I think if you put him at #1 or Inoue that is fine. I think Crawfordâs lack of activity since Spence has to factor in.

I thought Fury would be too big. I was dead wrong. He beat a much bigger man, with a longer reach, who was in tremendous shape.

Usyk deserves his respect.

I thought the exact same as you. I thought that was a good version of Fury he beat too. Very impressive performance.