Comments Thread For: Generational great Oleksandr Usyk drops and stops Daniel Dubois again

[crimsonfalcon07]

I’ve never claimed that he wasn’t an elite athlete of the sport. I agree, he’s exceptional, especially in today’s age where nearly the majority of heavyweights gas at 5 rounds. The problem I have is that you have people on this site and X whom are claiming that he’s the best of all time, yet have hardly watched any true fights in their lifetime.

The problem with the fantasy fights is that they're always a matter of speculation and supposition, and can never be more than that. I don't think I'd favor Usyk over any of the clear ATG's, but I wouldn't feel comfortable betting against him either, because he's such a complete fighter. He's getting stoppages against much bigger guys, has stamina for days and a great chin, and the intangible about how his opponents will take the mental pressure is not to be underestimated. He's a smaller guy in an age of giants, who mostly needs to win by points in a corrupt sport, who wins so clearly that even when the fix is in, and he's fighting in enemy territory, as he's done for most of his career, he still gets the win.

Saying things like "the Fury fights were close" smacks of bias, frankly. Before the first fight, Turki was already expressing favorites and hoping that Fury would win. Fury had more paths to victory, and he still lost, even with the judges trying to give him the win. Their fights were competitive, but Fury still lost most rounds pretty clearly. Bivol has a similar problem due to his lack of power at the weight. But their class still shows out.

Can you name another fighter who has taken more belts from champions in their home stadiums? IMO, being able to reliably win on points no matter who the judges are and with crowds rooting against you is far harder than winning by knockout, especially as the smaller man. And he's done so as the perennial B-side underdog for virtually his whole career, with little in the way of negotiation games. He's earned his respect, and his mention among the greats by beating the best people of his generation, conclusively in back to back fights. That's another thing that's harder to do than many couch potatoes realize (not that you're one).