Comments Thread For: Usyk's Promoter: We'll Do Our Best To Get Joshua By End of 2019

[Andrij]

Usyk is the WBO "super" champion, which means he has the right to a mandatory shot at AJ's WBO title as soon as he moves up to HW, if that's what he wants.

He'll probably have at least one HW tune-up first, but he won't fight the winner of Wilder/Fury before AJ. Why take a risk like that going for only one title, when he can fight for 3 belts and make a hell of a lot more money against AJ?

Its a win-win fight for Hearn if Joshua vs. Usyk gets made by end of 2019.Unless Usyk won't extend his contract with Matchroom.

[Redd Foxx]

I really like and respect Usyk but I don't see him hanging with AJ. He isn't even a strong puncher at CW. HW will be a real problem because you HAVE TO be able to keep a guy off you.
I really wish there were better financial opportunities for him at CW.

[HI-TECH Boxing]

Joshua is a very busy fighter.
I was thinking about this and maybe they should have Usyk target the WBA regular belt as soon as possible.
Manuel Charr is not a great name, but it will give Usyk a free belt and basically make him a mandatory for Joshua while having a belt.

Yeah, he will be mandatory with the WBO, but who knows when he will actually fight Joshua. At least with the WBA regular it will give him a belt that he can defend and will still basically be Joshua's mandatory.

They should definitely target the WBA regular belt then start fighting these Heavyweight contenders until he can face Joshua.

[kafkod]

I really like and respect Usyk but I don't see him hanging with AJ. He isn't even a strong puncher at CW. HW will be a real problem because you HAVE TO be able to keep a guy off you.
I really wish there were better financial opportunities for him at CW.

Usyk has a 73% KO ratio at CW and was able to stop Huck, which Povetkin couldn't do at HW, and Povetkin packs a wallop.

He has to work hard making 200lbs, so I'm assuming not having to worry about that will give him more power as well as extra size. But speed and timing - being able to hit guys when they arn't expecting to be hit - are as deadly as sheer power when it comes to hurting opponents, and Usyk is fast with exceptionally good timing.

[Redd Foxx]

Usyk has a 73% KO ratio at CW and was able to stop Huck, which Povetkin couldn't do at HW, and Povetkin packs a wallop.

He has to work hard making 200lbs, so I'm assuming not having to worry about that will give him more power as well as extra size. But speed and timing - being able to hit guys when they arn't expecting to be hit - are as deadly as sheer power when it comes to hurting opponents, and Usyk is fast with exceptionally good timing.

I think fans often want to bestow all powers onto their favorite fighters and not concede any weaknesses. I liked Usuk the first time I saw him and have always had an appreciation for big guys who respect their craft the way he does. Because of that, I want to see him in situations that play to his strengths. HW is not part of that. I'll go on record as saying that AJ would/will hurt Usyk, badly. I don't want to see that.

[DougalDylan]

The WBO mandatory is close to being called (why is is not Povetkin ?? hes #1, last I heard it doesn't count??) the current thinking is they'd say Whyte but they could say Whyte vs X in eliminator first. If Usyk moves up late he'll be behind Whyte if say before Whyte can be taken care (depends on Wilder\ Fury winner) then presumably they might order Whyte vs Usyk.

We could in theory have
AJ vs Wilder\ Fury
AJ vs Whyte mandatory WBO

Obviously I've assumed AJ beats Fury ;-)

Joshua is a very busy fighter.
I was thinking about this and maybe they should have Usyk target the WBA regular belt as soon as possible.
Manuel Charr is not a great name, but it will give Usyk a free belt and basically make him a mandatory for Joshua while having a belt.

Yeah, he will be mandatory with the WBO, but who knows when he will actually fight Joshua. At least with the WBA regular it will give him a belt that he can defend and will still basically be Joshua's mandatory.

They should definitely target the WBA regular belt then start fighting these Heavyweight contenders until he can face Joshua.

[HI-TECH Boxing]

You don't need power to keep these Heavyweights off you.
You can use speed and footwork, and be intelligent.

Throughout history smaller men have moved up to Heavyweight and conquered, or at the very least competed fairly well at, Heavyweight.
I think people tend to overrate Heavyweights, because it's one of the most beloved divisions. They see the best guys there as invincible monsters, but they are very beatable. They are clumsy, slow, and their stamina isn't the greatest.

What if Joshua catches Usyk? Well, what if Joshua catches Wilder or Fury? They have the same chance of getting KO'd. They need to figure out how to win and avoid getting KO'd. Whether it's to get to AJ first or to out-box him and out-smart him. It won't be any different.
The Heavyweights have power to KO anyone.

If you want to be great you need to do great things. Beating fighters in their prime that out-weigh you by 50 or so pounds is something special.
I don't want to see someone fight most of their top opponents past their prime and then have everyone fall for it and praise them for it.

[filup79]

Can happen IF Usyk beats a decent heavyweight contender . For example, Whyte.

He doesn't have to beat anyone. As soon as he moves up, he will be a mandatory since he is moving up after being a unified champ. More than likely it will be the WBO. Just like they did with Crawford

[Robbie Barrett]

Usyk's style won't work at HW he doesn't have the power for it to be effective. This ends badly for him.

[chrisJS]

I really like and respect Usyk but I don't see him hanging with AJ. He isn't even a strong puncher at CW. HW will be a real problem because you HAVE TO be able to keep a guy off you.
I really wish there were better financial opportunities for him at CW.

I think he's so far ahead of AJ in boxing IQ, mobility and skill that he might just be able to do it. Obviously the size is huge and one punch could make Usyk overly defensive or worse - knock him out/hurt him badly.

I'm not sure Joshua has the ability or mobility to truly close the gap on Usyk. Usyk's use of angles and his feet are so good. His power won't register with Joshua though so I think his defense will need to be tighter than normal if Joshua throws caution to the wind.

I think Usyk will be up about 5-1 after 6.