How much time does Usyk have left being the top gun?

[Dr Z]

Usky is 39 year old. The age in boxing where 95% plus are well past their shelf life.

But Usyk has treated his body like a temple. He is always in shape and based on his recent training clips has retained almost all of his quickness and agility from years ago . To watch him train is astounding for a 39 year old.

He has gradually earned a place in the top 15 heavyweights of all time with a strong case for being in the top ten in my opinion!

His next fight is against the world's best professional heavyweight kickboxer in May 2026. The big and powerful Rico Verhoeven. While Rico's combat experience is significant, he is a boxing newbie. Usyk it at the age where champions typically play games and fight men for marketing reasons rather than boxing ability.

He has earned that right to do so. A heavy favorite as high as 33-1, Usyk will likely dominate this match. But Verhoeven has a puncher's chance and is very durable. The man has not been stopped since 2011.

The question here is how many months does Uusk have left being on top. At least 20 more months I say.

He has not had many hard fights. Nor has he suffered any bad injuries.

[NihonJim]

Personally I think he's been slipping gradually since his peak which was AJ 1, when he was 35.

The thing is his peers are also on the slide with him so it evens out.

The only guy who I see with the potential beating of him is Itauma, Usyk is a genius boxer but freak of nature speed and power can trump that as Roy Jones proved many times vs boxers with much higher IQ.

Kabayel is too plodding and hittable to bother Usyk, Usyk will not let himself get pinned on the ropes eating body shots, Kabayel will be plodding around the ring after him getting lit up.

I think Usyk goes at least another year, after that we will have to see, he IS in danger of falling off a cliff any day now due to his age.

[hugh grant]

There's young undefeated lions who could age him fast now

[hardleft]

not long i would say hes just wants to cash out now so hes basically gone as far as i can see, he probably wants fury or AJ again and then bye bye lol

[Elastic Recoilz]

He can stay at the top as long as he stays away or delays a fight with Itauma who I feel would've KO'd any heavyweight version of him. weirdly enough I think Zhang could also be a dangerous opponent in the first 4 rounds if they fought - another southpaw but has he deceivably fast hands for a big guy and is probably the most powerful puncher in the sport. Usyk wold pick Zhang apart in the latter rounds but from rounds 1-4 Zhang could cause Usyk major problems.

[hardleft]

He can stay at the top as long as he stays away or delays a fight with Itauma who I feel would've KO'd any heavyweight version of him. weirdly enough I think Zhang could also be a dangerous opponent in the first 4 rounds if they fought - another southpaw but has he deceivably fast hands for a big guy and is probably the most powerful puncher in the sport. Usyk wold pick Zhang apart in the latter rounds but from rounds 1-4 Zhang could cause Usyk major problems.

u think itauma ko's any version of usyk? thats a bold statement to make, itauma is very untested, guys rarely reach that level when finally tested, will be interesting to see how high he can go

[Elastic Recoilz]

u think itauma ko's any version of usyk? thats a bold statement to make, itauma is very untested, guys rarely reach that level when finally tested, will be interesting to see how high he can go

Itauma does stuff that would give not only Usyk but pretty much all heavyweight problems like persistent feints, changing levels constantly so opponents can't anticipate where shots are coming from, unorthodox shots like the chopping down 6 to 12 hook and he is very cerebral with it and also has a high understanding of ring geography.

Admittedly he's not been tested at the highest level but equally the likes of Usyk, Fury etc would never have been faced with an offensive arsenal like the one he'd bring. Itauma has been top dog in every amateur championship he's been involved in, he won golds at the schools, juniors, European youth and world amateur championships - that's not a coincidence, he is from exceptional stock!

I think a Itauma vs Usyk fight could potentially develop into a high IQ dog fight but Itauma is just a tad more spiteful and I'd see him landing the telling blow.

[RockyKO]

He said that he only has 3 more fights left. So he said Wilder, Fury were on his list after Verhoeven. But guys these days just throw names out there into the wind just to keep their name relevant. I personally hope he gives Wardley a shot then Nelson Hysa and the trilogy fight with Fury to close his career. But I'm a boxing fan so that means I never get what I want.

[hugh grant]

u think itauma ko's any version of usyk? thats a bold statement to make, itauma is very untested, guys rarely reach that level when finally tested, will be interesting to see how high he can go

It aima likely does test usyk. He studied usyk. He's a young guy. .