Comments Thread For: Manager: Usyk Will Need a Fight or Two Before Joshua Title Fight

[landotter]

I would like to see Usyk take 2 or 3 fights at heavyweight to see if all this is a good idea or not..

Kind of where I am. Usyk can absolutely fight at above 200. Problem is... how far above 200 and still be effective?

He needs to get to about 220 and see how he handles it. If he can't keep his quickness and hand speed at that weight, how does he handle the huge HW of today that can run well over 20 more pounds naturally? It is fair to say he will train correctly and increase his power, but he won't have Wilder/Joshua/Ortiz type power, so he needs to keep enough of his other skills to offset that.

[robbyheartbaby]

Kind of where I am. Usyk can absolutely fight at above 200. Problem is... how far above 200 and still be effective?

He needs to get to about 220 and see how he handles it. If he can't keep his quickness and hand speed at that weight, how does he handle the huge HW of today that can run well over 20 more pounds naturally? It is fair to say he will train correctly and increase his power, but he won't have Wilder/Joshua/Ortiz type power, so he needs to keep enough of his other skills to offset that.

Great point, we have to remember Usyk is already 31, 33 by the time a Joshua fight happens realistically, and at 6"3 and 220 lbs, Usyk will actually still be a small heavyweight by today's standards!