Comments Thread For: Usyk Stamps His Greatness With Impressive Win Over Joshua

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Corey Erdman - During media availability two weeks before his bout against Anthony Joshua, Oleksandr Usyk was asked if he'd studied tape of Anthony Joshua. In conversations between media members and boxers, this is usually a set-up for fighters to posture a little bit. For whatever reason, a large number of boxers are programmed to say that they never study film at all, they just "leave it up to their trainer." For some that may indeed be the case, but for many more it serves as an opportunity to convey nonchalance about their opponent and to suggest that they're virtuosos for whom the ability to formulate a game plan is just second nature.
[Click Here To Read More]

[JakeTheBoxer]

A great fighter. People are forgetting Usyk is a great fighter while they criticize AJ.

[jkrames]

the right man won. so happy for that. also the ref was great. usyk is a proper champion.

[zod66]

Boooooooomb squuuuaaaaaaaaaad

[hugh grant]

I can't really remember usyk being mentioned as a pfp fighter which is odd? When genius is lavished on him?
I5s always nelo, crawford, lomo, spence, inayou

[Tatabanya]

I can't really remember usyk being mentioned as a pfp fighter which is odd? When genius is lavished on him?
I5s always nelo, crawford, lomo, spence, inayou

Actually, the Ring Magazine has had him in their Top 5 pound for pound ratings for a good while. Those in the know were well aware of his ability to defeat Joshua.

[Ropeydope]

People in the boxing world knew there was a better than good chance this fight would play out exactly as it did. They were simply in denial publicly out of necessity. They are essentially shills for the money engine of which AJ is the primary product. Even as the fight was unfolding, the commentators were ooing and ahhing over every punch AJ landed on Usyks guard while Usyk snapped his head back with straight lefts at will. I said it before the the fight, AJ’s jab ain’t all that. Usyk was able to step outside his front foot and make him pay every time he tried to throw it.
All the trainers, conditioning coaches, nutritionists in the world, will not change the result in the second fight.

[The plunger man]

I can't really remember usyk being mentioned as a pfp fighter which is odd? When genius is lavished on him?
I5s always nelo, crawford, lomo, spence, inayou

cruiserweight is often the forgotten division of boxing and still not lauded the way say the heavies , middles and welters are.......so I think he was kinda overlooked a little but he is hugely skilled
I knew usyk was good but I didn’t expect to be that good....he has the full package expect maybe knockout power but again with him it’s the punches you don’t see and can’t protect yourself against that are the most dangerous shots and I expect usyk to actually be about 225 by the time he has settled in to the division.....that’s heave enough
I have never seen a heavyweight use such upper body movement and feints the way usyk does.....must be so hard to nail him clean consistently

[hugh grant]

Actually, the Ring Magazine has had him in their Top 5 pound for pound ratings for a good while. Those in the know were well aware of his ability to defeat Joshua.

I don't buy ring magazine so wasn't aware of it. But yeah if he's a so called genius you'd expect him to be on a spence level at least

[Line305b]

Actually, the Ring Magazine has had him in their Top 5 pound for pound ratings for a good while. Those in the know were well aware of his ability to defeat Joshua.

His ability to defend Joshua was more of a potential, not a given. He had to work quite hard, and changed himself quite a bit to come to the fight the way he did. His conditioning trainer mentioned on the Ukrainian live show that "Usyk moving ability is lower, like 8/10 of his maximum" due to weight and muscle gain, so there were some quite conscious trade-offs Usyk was willing to accept. He also mentioned they were in camp for like 8 months for this fight (not knowing it would be Joshua in the end), and that Usyk has shown exceptional discipline in showing up and investing in training. This is something that many in Ukraine suspect Lomachenko may have failed to do for his fight with Lopez, just let off the gas a bit. He also mentioned Usyk had problems with settling on the right trainer, and had to work for a while without a firm trainer, etc. So, his victory was not a given, and is not an automatic extension from his cruiser weight fight form days, and without major adjustments and non-stop work for as long as he did, he would not have won.