Can cruiserweight king Usyk be a legit heavyweight contender?
Last week WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO cruiserweight champ Oleksandr Usyk ended Tony Bellew’s career with a devastating eighth round knockout in the Manchester Arena. Then promptly stated he was ready to step up to the heavyweight division to challenge the big boys there.
As devastating and impressive as his unbeaten fledgling 16-0 fight career has been. A career which has seen him clean up all four major belts, proving him to be unquestionably the king of the division. Looking at the current contenders in heavyweight. I don’t think, at the moment at least, it would be a very good move to heavyweight just yet.
Not that I am saying at some point he cannot make that jump. I’m sure he is looking at David Haye, who moved up from cruiserweight, as well as of course, Evander Holyfield who became an undisputed heavyweight champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
However, although Holyfield moved up in his 19th fight and went on to have a storybook heavyweight career.
Haye took until his 23rd fight to move up and though he did have his time as a champion, to be fair, didn’t have a long and blistering heavyweight career.
Although Oleksandr Usyk was a heavyweight as an amateur. He moved down to cruiserweight when he turned pro. Now, as a pro, he’s vastly inexperienced with only 16 fights. Although he was fast tracked through and cleaned the cruiserweight division, he has not exactly fought the highest calibre of fighters pound for pound.
His recent signing to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom boxing stable, suggests moving up is not just pipe dream, but a real thing. However, though he finished Bellew in devastating fashion. There were some early chinks in the armour that if Bellew revealed, could be exposed by a heavy hitting heavyweight.
In terms of the Bellew fight. At the risk of sounding smug and cocky. I pretty much called it. My post on Twitter the night before the fight, explained that I saw Bellew getting stopped in the late, middle rounds, but getting off to a very good start.
This is exactly what happened. Although Bellew continued his good start into the middle rounds and at the point of the stoppage, although as predicted, Usyk was getting to Bellew, What was not predicted is the possibility of Bellew being ahead on the cards.
This could have been down to a number of factors. The Manchester crowd urging Bellew on early in the fight and lifting him. Bellew knowing this was his last fight, so really pushed forward, working off adrenaline, with nothing to lose. Usyk having to acclimatise to the partisan English crowd and surroundings. not the mention the obvious pressure of the occasion.
However, what Usyk showed in that fight was patience. He can move very well coming from the Lomachenko stable and has a superb jab. For one of the bigger guys, has superb boxing ability and being in that environment, and against such an opponent, he also showed impressive temperament to ride those early moments, stay strong, stick to his boxing, wear Bellew down and finish him in devastating fashion.
Those are the type of fights he needs to put him in good stead to move up to heavyweight. However, how much did Bellew really have left in the tank? How much did two wins against a running on empty David Haye, really deceive the boxing public into thinking Bellew was not already on his last legs and could pull it off?
There is a big difference between an ending his career Tony Bellew, and an in his prime Anthony Joshua or Deontay Wilder.
Not to mention the size and movement of Tyson Fury. There is no doubt Oleksandr Usyk has undoubted power.
But what kind of power does he have at heavyweight? And has his 16 cruiserweight opponents really tested his chin enough to go up against a punch from a fully blown heavyweight?
Apart from the three main heavyweights. I even feel the likes of Luis Ortiz, Dilian Whyte and Jerrell Miller would be a stretch at this present moment. There are also the likes of Joseph Parker, Povotkin, Pulev, Jennings and Chisora who even, experience wise, would be very high risk fights.
However, if Usyk could target and beat the likes of Adam Kownacki. Dominic Breazeale, Carlos Takam or maybe even a Joe Joyce. This could be a good start. I don’t think he should try to jump into a big money fight early. Rather, try to cut his teeth at the weight first, set a relatively testing fight for experience, then move on from there.
I understand Usyk is chasing glory and the real glory as a bigger fighter is up at heavyweight. But I am doubtful about the decision right away. His inexperience is my real reservation. However, that’s the thing with experience, you don’t really know if you have enough until you are put in a situation. There is no doubting Usyk has skill and ability. But although moving from cruiserweight champion to heavyweight champion has been done before, there is a reason it has been done rarely.
With that said, Eddie Hearn has proved himself to be a smart and shrewd businessman. I’m sure he will find a way to fit Usyk in the mix. However, the thing about boxing and being “in the mix” is, sooner or later you have to deliver. So Usyk will be tested at heavyweight like he has never been tested before, and that is something I am really looking forward to seeing.
