Comments Thread For: Usyk vs. Briedis on January 27 in Arena Riga, Latvia

[Boxing Logic]

Breidis is a real student of sweet science. He outboxed Huck more convincingly than Usyk did.

RedZmaja, what does your avatar mean with the cross and the ouroboros serpent thing? I like to read about symbols so I was curious.

[Boxing Logic]

Why are people sleeping on the cruiser-weight tournament?

People will say its the lack of Americans or Mexicans in it, but I actually dont think that's the reason so much as because there is no US TV. If there was US TV, even the Americans who only like Americans, and the Mexicans who only like Mexicans, would choose their favorites and get invested, just like how tons of American and Mexican fans are interested in Loma-Rigo. All the racist "LDBC" fans would root for Usyk to lose because hes white, and for Gassiev to lose because he's trained by Abel Sanchez who trains GGG who is white, and they'd root for Dorticos to win because he's darker skinned. Most the GGG fans would root for Gassiev because he trains with GGG and fights similarly.

And so on. You know the drill. Plus, they're excellent matchups, so even the people without those kinds of "rooting interests" would be very interested in these fights if only they could watch them on TV, and in some cases, if only they knew who the heck these guys are. Only Usyk has really been showcased on US TV, and even he was only showcased briefly by HBO. Shakur Stevenson and Michael Conlan are a few days away from having gotten just as much mainsteam US TV coverage as Usyk has had, and their careers have just started.

I am very pumped for these fights though. But Im still wondering, here in the USA, am I going to be able to watch them live? If I hear who wins before I get to see a relay of the fight online, then it wont be as interesting...

['b']

Why are people sleeping on the cruiser-weight tournament?

Search your heart...you know the answer
...
Fact is, sadly, people don't give a **** about mostly eastern Europeans. Whether it's western Europe, the UK, Australia, the USA or whatever, they just don't sell + the language barrier and all that.

People like Usyk are actually very well known in Ukraine - they just never make it into the anglosphere and beyond.

['b']

Usyk taking somewhat of a risk. Briedis is a bit of a stinker and can hold a lot so if this one gets close the crowd could factor in. He should be fine as he's a level above and once he starts getting into a rhythm he should simply overwhelm Briedis.

Agreed, but the problem with Usyk is he is a bit of a slow starter, he takes time to get into his rhythm and can lose rounds early. I don't think this is necessarily all bad, because he has shown good cardio and volume and like in the Michael Hunter fight, he could afford to let his opponent waste their cardio and then turn up the volume.

Usyk is good at tiring his opponents with decent power, volume to the body while minimising damage through good ring IQ and footwork. Late stoppage or perhaps close decision.

Gassiev is the one who will bring real problems IMO, provided he gets past Doritos™

[RedZmaja]

RedZmaja, what does your avatar mean with the cross and the ouroboros serpent thing? I like to read about symbols so I was curious.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Dragon