Last night in New York, at the Vasyl Lomachenko-Richard Commey fight, rival heavyweight kings Tyson Fury (WBC) and Oleksandr Usyk (WBA/IBF/WBO) met and went face-to-face. And to the surprise of many of people – Fury included – the two men almost did go face-to-face.
Literally. For some time now, since before his ultimately successful challenge of Anthony Joshua, we’ve been hearing fans say former undisputed cruiserweight champ Usyk is “too small” for the heavyweights.
He was too small to be able to beat Joshua, plenty of people said, and he is certainly too small to be able to defeat the towering Fury, plenty of people have been saying since September 25.
However, last night, the two men squared up (playfully) and it’s clear this is not a case of David and Goliath. Usyk did not appear to be that much shorter than Fury; he for sure didn’t look dwarfed.
Is Fury really the 6’9” he is listed as? Is Usyk really the 6’3” he is listed as? Maybe Usyk was wearing lifts in his shoes last night! In all seriousness, this fight, this match-up, is far, far from a foregone conclusion.
Fury will enjoy height and reach advantages of course, but heavyweights from previous years have battled the greatest disadvantages in this area (see Evander Holyfield and the many bigger men he was able to overcome).
Usyk, with that amazing boxing brain, that speed and skill, that desire and complete lack of fear, might just be the man to give Fury fits if and when they fight. It’s easy to come up with an image in your mind, of Fury the colossus looking down on Usyk, making him look tiny in comparison.
At least it was easy to come up with such an image – not so much now, after seeing the two go (almost) face-to-face yesterday. Again, this fight is a tough one to pick, as well as it being a truly fascinating prospect.
But who will Usyk fight next? Who will Fury fight next? Asked by Fight Hype who he would prefer to fight next, Usyk first replied how “It all depends on how it turns out, it’s not up to me at this point.”
Usyk was referring to Joshua, will he/won’t he take step-aside money issue, which could in theory allow Fury to fight Usyk next (Fury has also been ordered to fight Dillian Whyte, as we know).
But when pressed, Usyk said he would prefer to fight Fury next. “Of course, it’s one step less, I could fight for the undisputed heavyweight title,” he said.
And Fury Vs. Usyk is the fight we all want to see. And in light of how reasonably closely the two men seem to match up physically, this fight is even more intriguing.
Okay, so we all agree that Deontay Wilder is the best heavyweight champion that ever lived without question.
Hell no
Yes motor city cobra, if that’s your real name. I am a fan of people like Deontay Wilder. I am inspired by people who start with nothing but awful conditions schools that won’t educate you, policeman just looking for an excuse to ruin your life, no end jobs as the norm, and through it all unfold a spectacular life , worldwide fame and wealth, and made it through. Deontay Wilder is one in a million. No wonder little boys like you stand by while Deontay Wilder is lynched in the court of public opinion.
Crash,
You are a young white man aren’t you. I can’t educate you now because someone called motor city ordered me to go to bed. Deontay Wilder is a Canastonia New York international boxing Hall of famer 10 title defense in five years. Every title defense was against a top ten ranked Oro except for one.
Your guy has been caught cheating so many times that the British boxing board of control suspended permanently fury’s boxing license for ever.
The fights should be fought with even advantages. No steroids cocaine crank and spiking water holding neck wrenching tripping rabbit punching and eggweight loaded gloves padding repositioning advantage floppy gloves flopping around all over the place camera’s rolling bribed judges and referee’s.
Your champion is not a true legitimate champion.
Go back to bed.
See? That’s the El problemo , don’t you know that on average@3 boxers die in the ring annually? How is it that Deontay Wilders life is threatened by the use of glove tampering with metal eggweight loaded left glove and bare knuckle right glove and you simply sit back and watch all this going on? Gloves padding repositioning advantage floppy gloves flopping around all over the place camera’s rolling and not even an investigation?
You probably work for Eastside boxing, they censor and enable Deontay Wilders being robbed of the WBC belt.
Deontay Wilder the best fighter of all time? I hope you’re joking. Wilder sucks. He’s never actually beaten any good fighters. Fury absolutely destroyed him. There was no cheating involved. Stop lying to yourself. Wilder could never beat a good fighter. He should stick to tomato cans. Last fighter of all time ROFLMAO!!!
lol .stop crying and be a man …he got beat 3 fk times…yes he got beat the first rime aswell….and if they fought 3 more times he would hammer wilder again…dry up ur tears….wilder is a one trick pony..
These top heavyweights would hold their own with any era. Oleksandr Usyk is as big as big George Foreman and he is formidable. Anthony Joshua and fury as well. However Deontay Wilder is the best heavyweight champion that ever lived without question. You have to cheat Deontay Wilder to beat Deontay Wilder.
Go back to sleep
1. Deontay Wilder
2. Luis Ortiz
No fighter could possibly be more dynamic and charismatic athletic superstar Deontay Wilder is.
Deontay Wilder is the best heavyweight champion that ever lived without question.
Wilder fanboy. Lol
No credible heavyweights at this
Time we got fury big and slow joshua gun shy and glass jaw wilder an old lion and usyk too small and poweless
Deontay Wilder is not glass jaw. Anyone who gets hit with bare knuckle like it has been proven fury does will react differently than if they were hit with padded gloves.
Lion is the key word. Old not so much.
Two classy guys, very professional in that clip. Joshua and Wilder are two over-rated fighters, not very smart in the ring, poor stamina, sporting glass jaws. Hence, that’s why those two ought to square up with each other for their big money grab, then retire to the broadcast table.
It depends how you define,”class.” We all saw the photos of the eggweight loaded left glove that Rick Hatten pulled down to put it in the position of striking with the wrist area, we saw the photos of the right glove showing just as clearly visible through the leather glove the finger’s as we saw the eggweight through the leather glove.
Deontay Wilder has more stamina, endurance, reflex reaction time better rythm more strength and conditioning speed and coordination and footwork than fatso.
Metal loaded gloves? Anyone who wants to dare question that your phoney baloney champion aren’t cheaters match wits with the British boxing board of control.
We agree fury will retire and be an average broadcast table seat warmer.
No the fights still on. You bet your sweet bollocks to a Barn dance the fights still on. So put a leash on that talk, you wouldn’t want to get bitten now would you sweetheart? Have your man go down in the fourth.
So we will be seeing it within three.months, unless Maricio Suliaman president of the WBC hand writes an exemption form like he always does for his friends.
We don’t see why Dillian Whyte should be avoided so. The WBC has not received any paperwork for a mandatory title defense. The WBC guidelines insist on a title defense three times a year.
Dillian Whyte has been the official mandatory for the WBC title for two years weeks.
Dillian Whyte was never the mandatory for Deontay Wilder. Not even one day. But he is the mandatory, in writing, for the WBC belt now. It already been two weeks, we only have three and a half months.
No worries, the WBC belt must be defended every four months unless a written exemption is given by the WBC.