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Some observers see Murat Gassiev as a force to be reckoned with in heawyweight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCZmW4d8W08
Gassiev went 26-1 with 20 KOs in cruiserweight, losing only to Usyk by UD in their 2018 unification bout. Although his moving up was announced few years ago he had a long lay-off due to training injuries, and had his first HW bout only recently, in october '20. Won by 1st rd KO, as he was expected to do so vs veteran Nuri Seferi. More precisely, his first opponent in HW supposed to be Kingpin Johnson, which got repaced by Sefer Seferi due to some administrative/passport problems, but than Sefer got replaced by his older brother Nuri due to covid.
Now, I can see some pros to his HW perspective:
- still relatively young at 27
- has a real, solid power in both hands - can throw some vicious (body) hooks and overhand rights
- decent speed and accuracy (this could show even more in HW)
- good chin (tested to some extent by Dorticos and Lebedev)
- is mentally strong, tough guy from North Caucasus (like Beterbiev, Ibragimov, and the lot of wrestlers/mma fighters)
On the other hand, he was thoroughly outboxed by Usyk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNYsVGC2ay8
(with Gassiev having a hard time finding distance for most of the bout) - which revealed his lack of amateur experience/technical refinement, which leads us to the cons:
- still relativly inexperianced (started boxing relatively late at 15/had very short amateur career with pro debut at 17)
- has relatively short reach - 76″, which is below average even for the cruiserweight
- not so great in cutting off the ring vs opponents with really good footwork
- uses high guard for defence mostly, not much of a head movement
- was 2 years off (had a shoulder injury which required surgery)
- last, not really a disadvantage, but a fact that his chin hasn't been tested yet by a HW puncher - and that, considering him being a front foot/shorter reach fighter, will be tested soon enough should he face the likes of Joyce or Bakole, not to mention Joshua and Fury.
IMO it would be interesting to see him first against
- fellow prospects Yoka, Ajagba and Hrgović, or
- fellow former cruisers like Hunter,
and than, at some point,
- to see how would he fare vs Usyk in HW.
Please share your opinions, add to the pros/cons list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCZmW4d8W08
Gassiev went 26-1 with 20 KOs in cruiserweight, losing only to Usyk by UD in their 2018 unification bout. Although his moving up was announced few years ago he had a long lay-off due to training injuries, and had his first HW bout only recently, in october '20. Won by 1st rd KO, as he was expected to do so vs veteran Nuri Seferi. More precisely, his first opponent in HW supposed to be Kingpin Johnson, which got repaced by Sefer Seferi due to some administrative/passport problems, but than Sefer got replaced by his older brother Nuri due to covid.
Now, I can see some pros to his HW perspective:
- still relatively young at 27
- has a real, solid power in both hands - can throw some vicious (body) hooks and overhand rights
- decent speed and accuracy (this could show even more in HW)
- good chin (tested to some extent by Dorticos and Lebedev)
- is mentally strong, tough guy from North Caucasus (like Beterbiev, Ibragimov, and the lot of wrestlers/mma fighters)
On the other hand, he was thoroughly outboxed by Usyk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNYsVGC2ay8
(with Gassiev having a hard time finding distance for most of the bout) - which revealed his lack of amateur experience/technical refinement, which leads us to the cons:
- still relativly inexperianced (started boxing relatively late at 15/had very short amateur career with pro debut at 17)
- has relatively short reach - 76″, which is below average even for the cruiserweight
- not so great in cutting off the ring vs opponents with really good footwork
- uses high guard for defence mostly, not much of a head movement
- was 2 years off (had a shoulder injury which required surgery)
- last, not really a disadvantage, but a fact that his chin hasn't been tested yet by a HW puncher - and that, considering him being a front foot/shorter reach fighter, will be tested soon enough should he face the likes of Joyce or Bakole, not to mention Joshua and Fury.
IMO it would be interesting to see him first against
- fellow prospects Yoka, Ajagba and Hrgović, or
- fellow former cruisers like Hunter,
and than, at some point,
- to see how would he fare vs Usyk in HW.
Please share your opinions, add to the pros/cons list.
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