Usyk may actually be the Heavyweight Goat

[NihonJim]

You can literally pick apart any boxer using this poor logic. Lennox Lewis got SMASHED TO BITS by less than average McCall and Rahman, Wladimir got SMASHED TO BITS by average Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster and way below average Ross Purity, Rid**** Bowe got SMASHED TO BITS by a rookie in Golota, Mike Tyson got SMASHED TO BITS by subpar Buster Douglas and an old Holyfield. Holyfield got dropped and nearly lost to Bert Cooper and did lose against average Michael Moore. Michael Moore got KOed by a 45 year old George Foreman.


AJ and Fury were both THE Heavyweight champs, the best in the division, and in Fury's case he was undefeated and the lineal champ, both Fury and AJ were far younger than Usyk and they lost not once but twice. Daniel Dubois was third on that list, and he lost as well. You can do all the mental gymnastics you like to discredit Usyks victories against the best the heavyweight division had to offer, but win or lose com Saturday there is absolutely no question that Usyk accomplishments at heavyweight stack up with any past great fighter.

Blah blah blah just admit I'm right

[PRINCEKOOL]

Usyk folded up Dubois with a jab so there is more than enough power in that department for Usyk. Fury and AJ (AJ avenged his loss against Ruiz which was a considered a slip up) were both mentally unbeaten. Usyk was the first one to break them both mentally and physically, Usyk had them both out on their feet, AJ in the 12th (fight finished 10 seconds earlier) and Fury saved by the ref in the 9th.

Daniel Dubois is a front runner at top level 'He had already been beaten before by Joe Joyce, most likely? Overall in more systematic and brutal fashion. Yes Oleksandr Uysk's win vs Daniel Dubois I is a solid win, but it is not an all-time great win'.

And his two fights vs Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua 'Are pound for pound the greatest wins of the past 25 years. But they were competitive fights; those four battles with Fury and Joshua are what in my opinion? Have lead to Oleksandr Uysk wanting to retire and vacate Championship belts at a drop of a hat'.

Note: Unlike Evander Holyfield who in order to compete in the Heavyweight Division back in the 90's 'Holyfield had to compete against the entire division that was still developing and in its ascendancy. Evander Holyfield was not really granted the opportunity to just jump straight into the premier Champions of the Division i.e. Fury and Joshua and then sit back after winning those fights and have people claim he was the greatest heavyweight Champion of all-times'.

That is why I stated? Oleksandr Uysk has benefited from the opportune time he entered into the heavyweight division 'and the timing of his fights with both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. The Heavyweight era was already in its conclusive stages, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder in combination had already cleared out the entire Heavyweight Division'.

Oleksandr Uysk has exploited the modern day super heavyweights with his superior endurance and points scoring ability 'Not his power of offensive destructiveness. Within this era of Heavyweight fighters his talents and abilities have been great. But in other past heavyweight eras, I don't think they would have had such a profound impact on his nearest competition'.

Heavyweight fighters used to fight 15 rounds, and before that? Championship fights were 45 rounds maximum 'So this automatic notion that Oleksandr Uysk is the best conditioned Heavyweight for the past 50 years is not accurate and potentially nonsense'.

'Oleksandr Uysk vacated his IBF World titles, because he did not want to fight before his rematch vs Tyson Fury II. Even though there was plenty of time, for Oleksandr Uysk fight his mandatory challenger before his rematch with Tyson Fury II. If Uysk's condition was the greatest of all heavyweight fighters of the past 50 years, there should have been no issue of him making mandatory defense in the 6 month period between the first and second Fury vs Uysk I & II fights'.

In 1973 Muhammad Ali fought Ken Norton Twice 'In the first fight Ali lost, and suffered a broken jaw. The rematch happened less than 6 months later, and Muhammad Ali went on to win and avenge his loss to Ken Norton II. Now that is evidence from both Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton of supreme conditioning and endurance'.

To conclude: Unequivocally Oleksandr Uysk is one of the greatest fighters of his era 'And he has been a great Cruiserweight Champion, and so far a solid heavyweight Champion. I still don't regard him as one of the three Heavyweight Mountains, because? He mostly inherited the thrown, and a dynasty to reign over which Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay WIlder in combination had already established as the three Heavyweight Mountains'.

As I stated in my first post in this thread, people need to relax and stop getting carried away in the moment 'We have seen this with many great fighters throughout history, and even in more recent times' etc.

[Raggamuffin]

Olympic gold medal. Perfect record as a pro. Unbeaten undisputed cruiserweight champion. Unbeaten undisputed heavyweight champion. He totally cleaned out two divisions and is still going strong at 38. Never seen hurt, never knocked down. This ring genius with the most multi dimensional style we ever saw just keeps beating everyone, bigger, smaller, stronger, longer, whatever, they all get beaten the same. He beat everyone he had to beat, everyone in his era. There is no such thing as a weak era, the perception of eras is what varies. Every era is as strong as the other. Usyk is unbeatable. I am confident he would figure out and solve any style in history including Ali, Lennox, Klitschko, Holmes, Marciano, Dempsey, Louis, Tunney, Johnson, Foreman, Frazier, etc. I see no reason why Usyk would not be able to solve the styles puzzles. The man can't be beaten. Usyk is the goat.

He got kod by that body shot and played it off like he got hit low. He ain’t the goat.

[Bennyleonard99]

He got kod by that body shot and played it off like he got hit low. He ain’t the goat.

Clay was out on his feet vs Cooper and needed a ripped glove to survive - did that DQ Clay from being the goat?

Joe Louis got beat up from pillar to post by a one dimensional German, did that DQ Joe from being the goat?

Larry Holmes got flattened by Snipes and Shavers, did that DQ him from goat?

Lennox Lewis got flattened by two journeymen, did that DQ him from goat?

Usyk has only one barely hint of a down moment in his whole career, which was corrected by the referee as an illegal punch. That all you got to try to degrade Usyk?

[Willow The Wisp]

A good thread with some solid thoughts being expressed.


Packing enough historic wins into just 20 some-odd professional fights is the big catch for me.
I suspect that if Larry Holmes had retired before they robbed him against Michael Spinks we wouldn't have much ammo to put Usyk near him, given that both Joshua and Fury were near career end when he nicked them in 4 razor thin decisions.


But....I think that many of us can agree that the so-far impeccable Usyk has earned his way into the conversation, and retirement with his 0 intact is PARAMOUNT to his staying in the conversation.

Therefore, I say; let's reconvene after tomorrow's fight and see where things stand.

[Bennyleonard99]

A good thread with some solid thoughts being expressed.


Packing enough historic wins into just 20 some-odd professional fights is the big catch for me.
I suspect that if Larry Holmes had retired before they robbed him against Michael Spinks we wouldn't have much ammo to put Usyk near him, given that both Joshua and Fury were near career end when he nicked them in 4 razor thin decisions.


But....I think that many of us can agree that the so-far impeccable Usyk has earned his way into the conversation, and retirement with his 0 intact is PARAMOUNT to his staying in the conversation.

Therefore, I say; let's reconvene after tomorrow's fight and see where things stand.

Yes Usyk has a low number of fights but all of them were meaningful and purposeful. And I believe, without looking, most were world title fights.

Usyk never had a stay busy or set up fight. He just went straight for the big ones except that first fight at HWT vs Witherspoon, but that's perfectly acceptable.

[BirdSong]

Yes Usyk has a low number of fights but all of them were meaningful and purposeful. And I believe, without looking, most were world title fights.

Usyk never had a stay busy or set up fight. He just went straight for the big ones except that first fight at HWT vs Witherspoon, but that's perfectly acceptable.

hes fought 2 mental cases a quitter chisora and some other spoon guy i think claressa might beat him

[champion4ever]

If they fought for the first time maybe but the scare factor is baked after in getting folded up like nothing and once Usyk knows the ins and outs of your game it is hard to circumvent it with the limited tools Dubois has.

Then we must think about the intangibles. What if those two bouts with Fury has damaged or even aged Oleksandr Usyk? So then what? His body may no longer be able to do what it once has.

Dubois is going to turn this bout into a firefight in order to wear the older and smaller man down. In addition, he is going to target the same area of Usyk’s body like the last time too.

Anything could happen in the sport of boxing; Especially in the Heavyweight division.

I may be wrong but my hunch and gut feeling tells me that Dubois is going to win this time.

Also, I may add that a fighter could only reach down in that well so many times until it’s no longer there or dried up.

Usyk had to bite down and dig deep in order to defeat Fury.; Especially in their first fight. He could very well be both psychologically, emotionally and physically drained.

[NihonJim]

Yes Usyk has a low number of fights but all of them were meaningful and purposeful. And I believe, without looking, most were world title fights.

Usyk never had a stay busy or set up fight. He just went straight for the big ones except that first fight at HWT vs Witherspoon, but that's perfectly acceptable.

You know people lose stay busy fights right?

Upsets happen in heavyweight boxing ALL THE TIME

less opponents is not a good thing, Usyk has faced a very small variety of styles at heavyweight.

[Oracle01]

Usyk is the best conditioned heavyweight in the last 50 years. He also has very good skills and excellent footspeed footwork.

Which heavyweight do you think could match this and force him into a firefight?

lol 50 years? You fan boys are laughable.The 90s was full of Hw's just as conditioned. Just because he looks like superman vs big stiffs like AJ and Fury does not mean no HW of the last 50 years could match him. He struggled with an old Chisora ffs.