Does anyone else think Usyk is in for a rude awakening at heavyweight?

[Thuglife Nelo]

Usyk’s BEEN a Heavyweight. He comes in light at Cruiser. His real power is at Heavy. If Wilder has said he wants to fight a Cruiser shows by Gassiev and Usyk could have already been fighting at Heavy.

Usyk was fast against Bellew, toying him till he got bored and started tagging him as the rounds went up. He wasn’t challenged

[Longhaul]

People get to hung up on size on this site.Does anybody remember feather fisted 168 lb Chris Byrd who bulked up to heavyweight.Hes was supposed to be two small for the big guys not enough power to keep them honest but he beat Vitali Klitschko by stoppage was involved in at least 3 or more bouts involving the brothers and was only stopped once.He beat Holyfield Tua to name a few .Each fighter is different and this size bs when it comes to heavyweight gets old.A strong 6’3” 215 pound heavyweight with a dominating jab good chin footwork and decent right hand would give any of these heavyweights hell.Chris Byrd was a 168 pounder who moved up to heavyweight and used the sweet science to beat bigger guys.If one of the klitschko brothers were coming back to fight Usyk you guys would have a thread up saying he doesn’t have the power or strength to keep Klitschko of him he would be giving up to much in reach ect.To much time is spent on size and not skills when it comes to heavyweights.

[Zonkmeister]

Nah. He's a big, tall cruiser, fought in the WBSS at heavyweight on occasion, he's got skills, and that crazy man mentality that makes me think he actually *enjoys* taking a solid punch every now and again. Michael Hunter is a tiny bit smaller than Usyk, and he's been doing pretty well at heavy.

The only question is how he deals with 'em skilled giants (there's only three, lol, and all have their vulnerabilities), but we shall see in good time.

[Zonkmeister]

People get to hung up on size on this site.Does anybody remember feather fisted 168 lb Chris Byrd who bulked up to heavyweight.Hes was supposed to be two small for the big guys not enough power to keep them honest but he beat Vitali Klitschko by stoppage was involved in at least 3 or more bouts involving the brothers and was only stopped once.He beat Holyfield Tua to name a few .Each fighter is different and this size bs when it comes to heavyweight gets old.A strong 6’3” 215 pound heavyweight with a dominating jab good chin footwork and decent right hand would give any of these heavyweights hell.Chris Byrd was a 168 pounder who moved up to heavyweight and used the sweet science to beat bigger guys.If one of the klitschko brothers were coming back to fight Usyk you guys would have a thread up saying he doesn’t have the power or strength to keep Klitschko of him he would be giving up to much in reach ect.To much time is spent on size and not skills when it comes to heavyweights.

Good point. People seem to be forgetting good 'ol Chris Byrd. His defensive style at heavy was not showy, and he definitely was not the ultimate champion of all time, but it did give all kinds of big, actually skilled guys fits (Klitschko the older, Golota, many others).

Poor guy is paying the price health-wise now, though, last I heard. He actually was a natural 168-pounder and the added bodymass was probably way too much for his skeleton, plus taking punches from heavy hitters.

[Toffee]

He's got the kind of question marks you'd usually associate with an untested heavyweight.

Can he hurt the top fighters, can he take a shot from a 250 pound guy?

Heavyweights that rely on points wins are asking to be upset.

[deanrw]

His size will be his biggest obstacle, and also could be his greatest asset.

The big 3 at heavyweight all like a controlled pace. A smaller speedy jackrabbit of a fighter could give them all fits. All three big name heavyweights are vulnerable. The division is wide open and Usyk will fit right in.

[Verbalk]

He's been sparring with Wlad apparently. I'm sure he'll learn a lot and will come out a better fighter than he already is. It's still no joke to be in the ring with Dr.Steelhammer am sure.

['b']

The biggest question is how will his chin stand up. Like Loma, he throws a lot of punches of varying power, some with basically no power at all and that is why his cardio is so good, he is constantly conserving his energy. At HW, he will need to put more power into his shots because the big guys will walk him down, but doing so leaves him more open to taking big shots as well as diminishing his cardio quicker.

The extra reach his opponents will have at HW is another thing to look out for. Personally I think Usyk is very good boxer and IF he had power in his hands and explosiveness like a prime David Haye or a Mike Tyson I'd favour him to beat even the big 3 at HW currently. Sadly, that is not the case. He will put on some great fights though and him getting a world title is not impossible even if unlikely.

[lolpz]

At these weights it doesn't matter.

They exist for a reason. Look at Michael Hunter, he isn't stronger then Usyk.

[Eff Pandas]

Its definitely a possibility. Thats why even as a guy whos optimistic about his success at HW has left the door open that issues with power & size might be a bridge too far concerning Uysk reaching that success.

The jump from CW to HW is the most challenging & entering a whole new world move up jump in all of boxing so the jump Usyk is about to make is the hardest to make & makes more guys go from great to good performing this transition than stay great at HW as Usyk has done at CW.