By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing
WBO#1 heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk will cause a major upset on September 25 against WBO, WBA, IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in London according to Usyk’s promoter Alec Krassyuk. “I must say for those who do not see the clear reality that Usyk is a heavyweight – Oleksandr is the same size, weight, reach as his idol, “The Greatest” Muhammed Ali. Can anyone say Ali, the best of all time, was not a true heavyweight? So there is no problem there. If Ali can beat the best at that size, so can Usyk,” Krassyuk told MyBettingSites.
“For AJ, we wish him only the best. We wish him a wonderful training camp with no injuries or any other troubles. I respect him so much for his achievements in boxing, for his humble behavior, being such a massive star, for his bright personality. But let the best man win in September and then we will do it again in the rematch.”
Do I need to be the one to say Usyk is no Ali?
True, but it’s not a fair comparison even if he was. People, especially athletes, have gotten far bigger over the last 50 years. Ali was normal sized for his era, whereas Usyk is really small by today’s standards. The same was true for comparing Jack Dempsey or Rocky Marciano to Ali.
Ali was actually big for his era. The optimum fighting size seems to be about 6 ft 3 and 215-225 if the fighter is genuinely great ( think Ali, Holmes, Holyfield and 1970s Foreman ). All of the above would beat Joshua but Usyk isn’t at their level.
You can but you would be wrong. Usyk is just as slick and is one of the best boxers on the planet.
Usyk will need a higher work rate than his fight with Chisora to win. Is that possible, maybe but then he will be exposed a bit more. Joshua by easy unan decision.
Usyk vs Byrd might have been fun.
Usyk vs Byrd. Paint drying vs grass growing.
I guess Ken Norton was the greatest since he beat Ali three times
And Bam!!! Out of nowhere, Norton sneaks a parting shot for the road, cementing his 3 win status and forcing Boxrec to make the corrections.
Absolutely Norton beat Ali 3 times. Especially the third fight. That was a crime. Ali would lose to some of the giants that have cropped up over the years, at least since the 90’s.
I think Ruiz showed that Joshua can be befuddled a bit by quick hands, and Usyk has some quick hands. I still put Joshua as the clear favorite, but you can’t sleep on Usyk in this one, he has the skills to cause problems for Joshua. Let’s hope the judging is spot on for this one.
For me it’s not so much Usyk’s size as it is his clinical style that lacks some aggression. I’d take 215lb Holyfield up from cruiserweight against this field.
Big Talk, lets see it
There have always been small heavyweights-adding new weight classes just adds to the confusion of who real champions are. Nobody really cares about bridgerweight or cruiserweight but being heavyweight champion used to be a major accomplishment.
What absurdity to make the claim that just because he’s the same size as Ali, Usyk can win. With that statement, he’s already a loser.
I think the point was simply that Usyk is not too small.
go to any respected boxing forum on the intinternet and you will see that it is 100% unanimous that Cassius Clay is and was the greatest HW of all times and he could win against any opponent in history. no one who knows S about boxing has ever claimed that Clay is too small for Aj, so that is all they are saying.
skillwise is another story, but the statement was simply about size alone.
Usyk will be game to throw many punches and be a busy body moving all night. Usyk is an accumulative puncher, not a one-punch KO artist. However, Usyk has not been hit solidly by a large legit heavyweight to see if his arsenal can be diminished. Usyk is in a different league now compared to the cruiserweight division he came from.
For those of you who lack basic reading and comprehension skills: Krasayuk was not comparing Ali and Usyk as fighters, he was simply pointing out that they are the same size because everyone says Usyk is too small for a heavyweight yet Ali was one of the greatest and the same size. That being said, Usyk will school AJ but probably lose on some BS split decision.
Like others have said Usyk isn’t aggressive or busy enough. And Joshua had his moment after the Ruiz fight where his style has changed for the rest of his career like Klitschko did after he got knocked out. Boring fight with Joshua using his reach and distance and will hold and maul when necessary
Yeah, but the only problem is that Usyk is not Ali.