Let's clarify something about boxing champions..

[alexnation]

After Usyk's debut yesterday I see a lot of people here criticizing him and mocking his ambitions to unify the division.
The most prevalent argument in that has been his lacking of KO power.

I see your point but let's discuss this - is KO power an absolute requirement to become a champion? KO is not the only way to win. Yes, knocking out people left and right the way Wilder does it is spectacular and draws the crowd but is it an absolute prerequisite to conquering a division? I can't agree with you here. How many KO's did Floyd Mayweather Jr have after moving up to WW?

Usyk has speed, footwork, IQ and a good team in his corner. I believe that should be plentiful to take him to the top given proper preparation and choosing a right approach to every opponent. Yes, he debuted vs a weak opponent and still has a lot to prove before we can make some conclusions.

Chill and enjoy his attempt to bring something new to the HW division.

[Cobra Curry]

Well said sir

[Motorcity Cobra]

After Usyk's debut yesterday I see a lot of people here criticizing him and mocking his ambitions to unify the division.
The most prevalent argument in that has been his lacking of KO power.

I see your point but let's discuss this - is KO power an absolute requirement to become a champion? KO is not the only way to win. Yes, knocking out people left and right the way Wilder does it is spectacular and draws the crowd but is it an absolute prerequisite to conquering a division? I can't agree with you here. How many KO's did Floyd Mayweather Jr have after moving up to WW?

Usyk has speed, footwork, IQ and a good team in his corner. I believe that should be plentiful to take him to the top given proper preparation and choosing a right approach to every opponent. Yes, he debuted vs a weak opponent and still has a lot to prove before we can make some conclusions.

Chill and enjoy his attempt to bring something new to the HW division.

It's not KO power to me. It's does he have enough power to keep them off his ass. He's a slow starter with a high motor. How high will that motor be later in the fight after having a HW leaning on him and clinching. Will he sit down on his shots and take one to get one? Those are my questions.

[alexnation]

It's not KO power to me. It's does he have enough power to keep them off his ass. He's a slow starter with a high motor. How high will that motor be later in the fight after having a HW leaning on him and clinching. Will he sit down on his shots and take one to get one? Those are my questions.

Good questions. That's something we should find out in the next 1-2 fights

[.!WAR MIKEY!.]

Ko power is not what a champion needs its just GOOD ENOUGH POP to keep fools off him, and I say he does but does that mean he wont get ran through? or mauled? NOPE but its boxing that happened to people who even has KO POWER!

[alexnation]

Ko power is not what a champion needs its just GOOD ENOUGH POP to keep fools off him, and I say he does but does that mean he wont get ran through? or mauled? NOPE but its boxing that happened to people who even has KO POWER!

Right, I was just referring to the most common argument that Usyk will not achieve anything because his punches lack KO power. That's a silly argument

[Toffee]

Usyk hits hard enough to get anyone's respect.

Not a one punch knockout merchant, but that's not really boxing is it? Show me the guys who entirely relied on one punch... it's fun, but it doesn't usually last long. Wilder is an anomaly, and I think we could debate all day how he's managed to hold a title for so long.

[Marchegiano]

Be a champion? Maybe, I'm not one of these guys who watched that fight and thought he has no chance against any top ten. I can Usyk doing well, might even get a title. The champion? No, Usyk's not going undisputed at HW. Beating any of the top five? I doubt it. Usyk'll need power for that. Real power.








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Folks may not be able to explain themselves because most of them are just parroting some **** they heard they thought sounded good, but, there is truth to the heavyweight division being special:

The HW division is the only division with 3k years worth of boxing history. Not just in-ring history but out of the ring as well. 3K years of boxing training and trainers.

All other weight division were made in spite of the HW division. They were all a means to promote a man who isn't the champion. The original HWs were not even referred to as HW. They were simply pugilists willing to take on anyone. Men not willing to take on anyone made up champion status for themselves from the 18th century through to the 20th century when sanctioning bodies reigned in that bull****.

Here's the thing, because today we have a legit LW division folks seem to think the LWs of yesteryear were lightweights or that there's some kind of corresponding LW history, but, since there is no black title or any other racial title we don't think of those champions from the era when there was a black title as true titlists or champions. The truth is the same should be said about weight division champions from that era of boxing. Take my dude Daniel Mendoza for example. The first MW to HW champion in anglo boxing history. I speak often about the glory of Mendoza but here's the truth of his HW run, he waited the current HW champion out and when that dude retired Mendoza went, without gaining a pound, from MW to HW champion by winning a match he himself promoted as a HW title fight. Without a sanctioning body to stop him and with populus support shabbat shalom i'm going home champion says The ***....not being anti-semitic, The *** is what he went by, I'm a huge fan, it might not seem like it but that's the sort of **** Mendoza would like to read.

So, just to be clear HW has 3K years of true boxing history while any other has about a hundred at best while any other division only has about 100 years of real training and history. Prior to that, they're guys who avoided the only real champions.

Which is kinda of problem I have these days speaking about boxing. Because to me boxing is the HW division, all other divisions are spinoffs. I know that sounds elitist, but, I am a fan of WWs and ****, it's just that WW does not employ the full 3k years of boxing history whereas HW does. WW employs about 200 years of leftover history, guys not good enough to be the champion and trainers not good enough to be affiliated with the champion, and 100 years at best of focused effort in that division.

Why that would suck takes a long time, as you see, to get to but is actually really easy to understand now that we're here; Boxing was invented to be a military martial art, free of weight divisions, not a sport that classifies participants by weight Sorry, don't mean to actually go hard or any bull like that, just, that's my central point.

Because boxing was made to be for any sized man taking on any sized man you can sure bet your ass we have plenty of history, both in fight and training, on boxing's original weight philosophies. However! These philosophies were written in a world where boxing has no time limit. Boxing got a time limit, before weight divisions mind, because the biggest killer in boxing used to be exhaustion. It was, as it is today, a big man problem. Time limits saved big fellas from exerting themselves to death but cause a stylistic and technical problem. Now smaller men were stripped of the main focus of attack and gameplan. Small men being able to recoup energy quicker used to tired the big man out then go to work for an eventual KO. That's why boxing used to take hours and rounds racked up like mad. Once the small man was forced to engage more early on it became apparent we'd need weight divisions to even things out.

This is when boxing philosophies start to split and you start seeing guys at smaller divisions performing techniques guys at larger divisions do not. Tricky stuff, hit and don't be hit back, cutie, boxing seems to be impressive to fans from a technical perspective while power is of course thought of and presented as if it cannot be trained so no one bothers to even talk about the power-centric boxing styles that are exclusive to the HW division. They simply say boring **** like "Dem bigger so dem hit harder" Not hardly, Marciano wasn't bigger he was a HW. Dempsey wasn't bigger he was a HW. There is a technical reason behind HW power that's far beyond simply being huge.


Both Marciano and Wilder get the ****s for being sloppy, but, those jokers ain't peeked my mans' kinematic chains for ****. When it comes to turning the human body into a newton's cradle they are the best boxing has ever seen. That isn't something you see, not even at CW, not because the actual weight but because the ideas, training, and history that come with weight division.

Everyone talks about Ali moving like a LW. Where the **** did that come from if the divisions didn't split techniques up? Here's the thing, Ali did move like a LW. Tyson can move decent for right now and in his day Tunney was the ****s. HW has always included all the techniques while the other divisions, CW included, simple put does not.

Yes, HW's a special division, and yes, to master HW you must bring power. Not just god given, but also highly trained, technical, power.