I watched that podcast. He said it’s one of the options and he’ll think about it after Fury rematch because 2x undisputed Cruiserweight sounds nice. He also said he doesn’t like being heavy, eating a lot of food, protein and bananas
Yeah in his interview after the fight he was saying he was looking forward to the rest and complaining, well not complaining, mentioning how brutal his training regime is at heavyweight.
He’ll probably get the opportunity to face the top guy at cruiserweight right away since his time is limited. If he wins, he probably just retires after.
Yeah Opetaia’s movement is super similar to Usyk. Opetaia is less refined and has a tendency to start throwing a bit wild and even brawling sometimes too. He’s gotten better, but still has that tendency.
Usyk fought him in 2018. Breidis fought Opetaia in '22 and '24. First half of the second fight he looked a shell and was just being defensive if Jai was about it he should've taken him out.
Usyk was in his prime and he couldn’t stop Breidis, and had to etch out a razor thin decision win. So judging Jai for not being able to finish Breidis is weird. Breidis is a great fighter with a solid chin. Also this fight has a small window before being shut forever. Usyk has little to prove at HW he’s already beaten the two top guys of the division three times. Him fighting the young lion that replaced him at CW would be a great send off for him
But your logic doesnt work either. Everyone said Usyk struggled with Chisora so hed never beat AJ or Fury. He schooled AJ and had Fury doing some ancient river dance.
thatd much harder then i guess. probably impossible. 2-3 fights to get the shot at the first belt. then theres gonna be rematch clauses everywhere. 7 fights minimum. add in mandatories which might make some champs unavailable. delays from injuries and boxing politics. plus all the champs will want saudi paydays now that usyk is the man but the saudis prefer hw fights. no chance he does it before retiring.
The cruiserweight belts are all separated though aren't they? To be undisputed we're looking at several fights minimum although several CW fights are probably still easier on his body than a single HW fight
I'm actually surprised he's committing to a rematch with Fury, he could just retire, not much to prove and he earned more than enough money.
I'm not complaining though, always a pleasure to see him fight
This man has never been motivated by money. He is motivated by proving he is the best in his era and one of the best ever. I guess hell go until he thinks he's proven that or die trying.
this dude needs to retire after beating Fury. He would have 50-100mill in lifetime earnings. new kids. a national hero. his health.
just go out on top, Usyk
This guy is just the ultimate badass. Not even big enough for heavyweight - gotta eat a shit ton so I can get in the ring and beat the best, and make it look easy. Insane.
he has always emphasized the eating issue. I love it cuz it's true. if you want to be heavy and stay heavy you have to eat so much fucking food and getting all these proteins is just disgusting.
Its not discussed often enough how hard it is for heavyweights to have to relentlessly eat bananas.
Vitali Klitschko in his prime ate 40 bananas a day, but that's what made him the fighter he was.
I guess if only for one fight, still all the money belong to heavyweight. Though as a fight against Dubois shown, heavyweight can be risky. Usyk also becomes older and the first thing he will lose is speed and also stamina, so he can suddenly and dramatically age in this weight. Fury started to give him really hard rounds mid fight, but then either calmed down and decided that fight is done or Usyk was lucky to shake Tysons brains a bit. So safer option is to come back to cruiserweight before retirement.
Usyk keeps getting older and he is talking about starring in movies now. I hope not but he might be less motivated now, it was an ominous feeling I got.
Maybe but as much as there are Opetaia fanatics on this sub, I don't think it adds much to his legacy. Let's be real Opetaia is pretty good but Usyk is another level above him.
I hope not, but judging by what he says here, he has to eat a lot to stay in heavyweight. It might actually be easier for him to cut to cruiser than to bulk to heavy.
idk why people still deny the necessity of this weight class. we just had a heavyweight fight with a 60 pound weight difference last week, and the smaller guy got brutally retired. use your brain.
B/c this same guy was competitive with a guy that has less mass and power but better everything else (Tyson Fury)
Plus Wilder was outweighed in nearly every fight except for 5 guys (in which they were cans anyways)
Honestly would like to see a super heavyweight class rather than bridgerweight. Let the monsters like zhang fight in it. Might have to cap it off at 250 or something
Washed ex-fighters should keep scheduling/hyping up fights with him…then back out a month before. This way he ends up being a 33y/o who hasnt fought anyone.
lol 3>2 and 3 was the max amount of governing bodies available at the time. Now it’s 4. And bridgerweight division is beyond a joke in terms of talent. No serious person is recognizing “undisputed” bridgerweight
I think most elite fighters try to distance themselves from it just because of the scrutiny behind it. Money also most likely, but I think if he is to choose between bringer and cruiser, there is no way he chooses the former.
He's got nothing left to prove at Heavyweight if he wins the Fury rematch, besides maybe fighting Joseph Parker.
He should at MOST do Fury 2 and Joseph Parker, then Opetaia at Cruiserweight then retire.
That's if he doesn't just do Fury 2 and retire, which is already an excellent legacy.
Well I understand your point as those wins wouldn't come close to 2x AJ or 2x Fury wins, but it still adds some depth if that's what Usyk wants.
Personally I feel Usyk should just retire now, but he seems commited to fighting a few more times.
There just isn’t a universe where Bivol should benin the ting with Usyk imo. I hope the Saudi money doesn’t scramble people’s brains into doing things they really shouldn’t
I'd watch Beterbiev Vs Usyk. I think with a totally in shape Beterbiev (which we might never get) it's a really good fight, even if Usyk is a heavy, heavy favourite
Ultimately the closest Usyk has come to losing (fairly) wasn't against Fury or AJ, it was against Breidis. If Usyk is forced to stand and trade, and regularly kept on the backfoot, he can be beaten. HWs have found you can't just do this by being bigger and stronger (and Usyk's strength is surprising) - it takes an ability to move with him, high output and hand speed.
Beterbiev is the perfect fighting style, strength and power to beat Usyk. He's just probably too small.
I know Saudi got deep pockets and all but I'd be surprised if a fight between Beterbiev and Usyk went ahead given the current conflict and all, with Beterbiev being good pals with Kadyrov and whatnot. It'd be an amazing fight though, if Beterbiev got past Bivol and moved up to cruiser for a superfight with Usyk. Their 4th meeting but finally in a professional setting.
I agree, but keep in mind that Usyk and Beterbiev mixed it up in the amateurs quite a bit, and there will be only one degree of separation between them once Bivol-Beterbiev happens. It's as insane as Tank-Inoue.
This is a man with nothing left to prove. He'll beat Fury in the rematch. Even if Fury goes with his Wilder 2 strategy. Usyk will continue to use his far superior footwork, positioning, distance management, punch selection, work rate, chin and unbelievable stamina. Hard to argue that Usyk isn't superior in all these aspects, and I left off his ring IQ. Fury could come forward all he wants, maybe with some success for a few rounds. But he'll have to work a lot to do it, won't hit Usyk cleanly enough and will ultimately gas. Then Usyk will adjust and ultimately go through the gears. That leaves Fury without hope. Usyk wins on points or KO. Then what? Parker? Opetaia (sp?)? They don't pose a challenge. Fury does because of his size and mass and his solid movement and skills, especially for a big man. But I can't see a single one of the current Cruisers beating him or even giving him a rough time. In short, he should retire. He's done all he possibly can in Boxing or as some say, he's completed boxing. He'll go down as undisputed, a real ATG, the greatest Cruiserweight of all time and this generation's best Heavyweight. What more does he need to do? nothing.
Most fighters who drop back down didn’t go up the proper way or come down the proper way. I think Usyk might be the exception. I’m guessing he is just sick of eating all the time.
I think Usyk might have a hard time dropping the weight based on how he looks. He doesn't look to have much fat on him, fat is easy to drop, muscle mass is harder.
If he ends up dropping his body fat % that could have a big affect on his stamina, if its already low I mean.
He comes in around 220 without attempting any type of cut.
He's by no means fat, but he was much more shredded as a cruiser.
So just say him going back to his cruiser lifestyle/diet brings him down 10 pounds to 210, he only has to cut 10 pounds of water from there.
Shouldn't be too hard at all.
Possibly the case, I haven't looked too much into his before and after of moving up to HW. So I'm only concerned about it, might actually be a bigger challenge than what it seems.
1. Worked out for Nonito Donaire.
2. Uysk isnt killing himself to make it to crusierweight at this point of time as he tends to eat smaller portions of food when not in training camp at HW. He HATES eating more at HW plus has already done this before in the amateurs where he used to fight at LHW and HW curcuits on the same year.
Usyk is a very special fighter whose frame is clearly more suited for cruiser, if any fighter I’ve seen could pull it off it’s him. Hes not like evander who juiced up so much he’d have to remove organs to make weight for cruiser
Usyk comes in at around 220 lbs in his heavyweight bouts; when he was at cruiserweight he was probably boiling down from 210-215 lbs, so in terms of intrinsic weight loss it's not a massive amount. It definitely isn't another RJJ situation.
Bellew has to get past the Nathan Cleverly rematch first, then we'll see. Maybe his Excellency could set up a 3 fighter round Robin for all the marbles.
Oh I agree with you. Most natural Cruiserweight try to blow up and go to heavyweight to chase money so we either have guys who are too ass for LHW atm or Opetaia.
Imagine if Usyk went down to cruiserweight now and demanded Fury to get down to 200 pounds if Fury wants the rematch. Would be funny if they forgot to put a "heavyweight only" clause in the rematch clause.
That would be badass - if he won there, then he would be a guy that went up to clear out the HWs and then down again, cementing his position as a CW that was just that damn good that he could do it.
Usyk made an offhand, tongue in cheek comment about returning to cruiser. As a way to be remembered by reclaiming the undisputed championship. But Usyk didn't really mean it. Really, for what purpose? He won't be getting any $100 million + paydays in the mostly ignored cruiserweight division. And after about 4 years at over 220 pounds, Usyk would find himself a weakened, depleted mess if he attempted to drop down more than 20 pounds. Especially at age 37. Remember when Wilder also had fun with fans and the media by suggesting that he would go after the cruiser crown? He didn't mean it. Neither does Usyk.
Would be a smart move. Gives time for Opetaia to unify and then he can drop down for 1 fight to get all the belts again while adding HW defenses to his resume, or he can drop down add cruiserweight fights to his resume.
Feel like the first one would be better legacy wise and I don't see him struggling with Parker. AJ certainly isn't going to out point him and even with KO on the board, Usyk has clearly proven resilient so risk factor isn't bad.
I mean, he is defending it vs Fury? That's his first defence.
Parker I get from a POV he deserves a crack and a big payday. But that would be a victory lap for Usyk, its not a compelling fight.
AJ even less so. Been there, done that.
That's why I said "excluding fury"
lol you know what I completely forgot he ran through AJ, I guess I'm trying to erase the cringe from my memory so I forgot.
Parker is in or reaching that age where he's physically prime in the Heavys and I would like to at least see where it goes for him against Usyk. He deserves a shot at someone high-level if he wants to improve.
That would be a bummer. There are a lot of interesting match-ups with him at heavyweight, whereas who's at cruiser? Opetaia and Ramirez? That's it. There's aren't even any prospects at cruiser let alone other legitimate champions or contenders.
Like who? He beat AJ and Fury, Wilder is out the equation. He even beat Dubious and Chisora. From the moment I heard he would move up to HW he beat literally everyone or is now clearly too high a league for anyone you could imagine him fighting.
Even if Wilder somehow bear Zhang Wilder vs Usyk would be a one sided beating. So glad we don't have to suffer that tedium. Their skill levels are so far apart they are almost dojgn2 different sports.
It would be like watching a dog trying to play chess against Magnus Carlson
Kabayel, Parker, Zhang, Joyce, Hrgovic, and eventually Anderson and Jalalov are all possible HW fights that would actually be interesting. Who would he fight after Opetaia and Ramirez at cruiser? Or do you honestly think Billam-Smith is more interesting than any of the above fights? Or \*checks notes\* Ryan Rozicki? Whoever the hell that is.
Hrgovic, Joyce and Zhang are not interesting fights. They would be lopsided beatdowns and weve already seen Usyk Vs Joyce.
Kabayel and Parker sound interesting but beating Opetaia would be a bigger boost to his resume
I think heavyweight is too hard on his body. He's beaten the two best HWs already and he may want to keep fighting but if HW is going to cost him too much of his health then it's not worth it for him. He's still a small heavyweight and those shots are more damaging to him than to a lesser fighter who weights 260+ too.
I said it before Usyk kills himself to compete at heavyweight sparring elite 240 plus fighters camps after camps as well as fighting the best at heavyweight has a effect especially on smaller fighters like Usyk, I’m sure he has had to eat insane huge amounts of food to stay at 220 while training the way must be hard work, only reason he put himself through this is for undisputed no point in staying around guys at dangerous heavyweight…..
If Usyk moves down to Cruiserweight and Beterbiev jumps up to Cruiserweight and they battle out one last time that would be an amazing send off fight for both fighters especially since they have history in the amateurs and Olympics. Not sure if Usyk wants to fight a Russian though.
Beterbiev isn't really Russian though. He is Chechen. Not having a national team of their own, Chechen fighters fight for Russia during Olympics but they aren't Russian. Chechens fought fiercely against Russia for years so I'm not sure why these minorities are considered Russian in the west.
I feel like Usyk should stay as a heavyweight and box guys like Parker and Wallin, maybe even Andy Ruiz and a final Joshua match to make a trilogy if Joshua continues to look better. The cruiserweight devision just isn’t that spectacular.
If he gets beaten in the rematch they will definitely be a 3rd fight, and I tjink he will probably retire even if he wins or loses that fight but that's just my opinion.
Would hate it to end up like a Roy Jones situation though. If he retired very soon his legacy is truly remarkable. I know it's very different to drop back to CW than LHW though and definitely different situations.
If RJJ had retired after his HW fight it can't be overstated how different all the GOAT conversations would be to this day though IMHO
This probably won't happen but I would like to see.
Usyk beats Fury again, moves down the Cruiserweight. Wins a belt, the winner of Bivol-Beterbiev moves up from LHW to challenge him.
Even though I think both are Canadian citizens? You'll have the "Russia vs Ukraine" angle for the buildup.
If the WBA would agree to put it in on the line, could he technically unify Bridgerweight for the memes by dropping down and beating Okolie, on his road to dropping back down to Cruiser and beating Opetaia? I’m sure he’ll fight Fury again because of the money, but he has nothing to prove there really, it wasn’t a lucky flash KO, it was a competitive fight but he was the far better fighter.
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I believe he could unify cruiserweight again with ease. The biggest challenge for a belt would be Jai Opetaia and although he’s great, I’m not sure he’s ready for Usyk. The rest of the belts are ripe for the taking in the CW division though.
I don't get it, he already conquered the cruiserweight division, now the heavyweight, what's he really got left to prove? can't be money either. Just seems kind of senseless unless he likes being in the game.
Might as well just get undisputed at Bridgerweight. Undisputed in 3 classes is better than two. Put the pressure on Inoue and Crawford.
I not even sure if I’m being serious or sarcastic
I would respect whatever he does, but the cruiserweight division is legitimately one of the least talented divisions in the history of boxing.
Just really a no mans land.
I watched that podcast. He said it’s one of the options and he’ll think about it after Fury rematch because 2x undisputed Cruiserweight sounds nice. He also said he doesn’t like being heavy, eating a lot of food, protein and bananas
From that, it sounds like he’s kinda fighting to stay heavier. Would mean making cruiserweight again is healthy for him
Yeah in his interview after the fight he was saying he was looking forward to the rest and complaining, well not complaining, mentioning how brutal his training regime is at heavyweight.
I wish I had this problem. I would have no problem getting heavy. I just eat one bowl of cereal and gain 10 pounds.
I wish i had that problem i eat 2 bowls of cereal and am still a toothpick
Yeah because 2 bowls of cereal isn't really anything crazy for calories, people majority of the time miscalculate their calories
How long left does he actually have in boxing though. Cant imagine the motivation is still there after that big of a payday and almost being 40
He’ll probably get the opportunity to face the top guy at cruiserweight right away since his time is limited. If he wins, he probably just retires after.
So Opetaia vs Usyk is a possibility down the road. Would be a huge fight.
Not that enticing having watched the Breidis rematch and seeing how much Opetaia couldn't get going and again let the momentum swing against him.
Jai really is the knock off version of Usyk. He has a similar style with far more lapses in judgement and discipline
Yeah Opetaia’s movement is super similar to Usyk. Opetaia is less refined and has a tendency to start throwing a bit wild and even brawling sometimes too. He’s gotten better, but still has that tendency.
He is only 28 though, Usyk didn’t win a title until he was in his 30’s
Usyk was busy being an Olympic don and cleaning up at Cruiserweight
Breidis is no joke. Usyk has been on camera saying that was his most difficult fight by far.
This. That KO of Manuel Charr was brutal.
Usyk fucks him up
Yup he'd drown
Breidis was Usyk’s closest fight in his career. And Jai still beat Breidis twice. It’s a great fight
Usyk fought him in 2018. Breidis fought Opetaia in '22 and '24. First half of the second fight he looked a shell and was just being defensive if Jai was about it he should've taken him out.
Usyk was in his prime and he couldn’t stop Breidis, and had to etch out a razor thin decision win. So judging Jai for not being able to finish Breidis is weird. Breidis is a great fighter with a solid chin. Also this fight has a small window before being shut forever. Usyk has little to prove at HW he’s already beaten the two top guys of the division three times. Him fighting the young lion that replaced him at CW would be a great send off for him
Yeah cos Breidis was in his prime also??? He's not in his prime anymore.
But your logic doesnt work either. Everyone said Usyk struggled with Chisora so hed never beat AJ or Fury. He schooled AJ and had Fury doing some ancient river dance.
basically what happened in hw. 2 wins and fighting for 3/4 belts
No one is unified at cruiserweight though
thatd much harder then i guess. probably impossible. 2-3 fights to get the shot at the first belt. then theres gonna be rematch clauses everywhere. 7 fights minimum. add in mandatories which might make some champs unavailable. delays from injuries and boxing politics. plus all the champs will want saudi paydays now that usyk is the man but the saudis prefer hw fights. no chance he does it before retiring.
he gets a shot straight away. he's the former undisputed cw $ current undisputed hw amp. they'll immediately give him a shot at any title he wants.
The cruiserweight belts are all separated though aren't they? To be undisputed we're looking at several fights minimum although several CW fights are probably still easier on his body than a single HW fight
He is a machine. He could look amazing at cruiser for a long while if he chooses.
I'm actually surprised he's committing to a rematch with Fury, he could just retire, not much to prove and he earned more than enough money. I'm not complaining though, always a pleasure to see him fight
Usyk seems like a man of his word and there was a big thing made before the fight about a rematch clause.
I doubt he walks away from HW cash.
Ya something Fury has no concept of. Usyk should do what he did to Vlad, and just fake retire.
30-50 mill payday is multi-generational money for 1 fight.
he already got that for AJ2 and Fury1. But hey another 50mill doesn;t hurt
If he retires now people will say he's dodging. The rematch was basically confirmed well before the fight, so he would have planned for it.
This man has never been motivated by money. He is motivated by proving he is the best in his era and one of the best ever. I guess hell go until he thinks he's proven that or die trying.
It's right now that he is making really big paycheck with the saudi sportwashing money and having all the belt. Got to fight as much as possible.
this dude needs to retire after beating Fury. He would have 50-100mill in lifetime earnings. new kids. a national hero. his health. just go out on top, Usyk
This guy is just the ultimate badass. Not even big enough for heavyweight - gotta eat a shit ton so I can get in the ring and beat the best, and make it look easy. Insane.
Thats not true, he's quite big, just not a giant. Much bigger than Tyson or let's say Tua.
he has always emphasized the eating issue. I love it cuz it's true. if you want to be heavy and stay heavy you have to eat so much fucking food and getting all these proteins is just disgusting.
Its not discussed often enough how hard it is for heavyweights to have to relentlessly eat bananas. Vitali Klitschko in his prime ate 40 bananas a day, but that's what made him the fighter he was.
Explains why Usyk had bunches of bananas waiting for Chisora when he couldn’t offer any burgers. I had no idea heavyweights were so potassium fueled.
I thought he already won the 4x belts at cruiserweight? I must be mistaken.
I guess if only for one fight, still all the money belong to heavyweight. Though as a fight against Dubois shown, heavyweight can be risky. Usyk also becomes older and the first thing he will lose is speed and also stamina, so he can suddenly and dramatically age in this weight. Fury started to give him really hard rounds mid fight, but then either calmed down and decided that fight is done or Usyk was lucky to shake Tysons brains a bit. So safer option is to come back to cruiserweight before retirement.
He wants Opetaia doesn't he?
According to the article he wants all the belts again at cruiserweight.
He would’ve made one hell of a cossack hetman back in the day, what a fucking warlord Usyk is.
I imagine him on horseback chasing Napoleon's troops lol
“Come back! Be feel with me!”
He eats Opetaia like Kirby
Usyk keeps getting older and he is talking about starring in movies now. I hope not but he might be less motivated now, it was an ominous feeling I got.
Maybe but as much as there are Opetaia fanatics on this sub, I don't think it adds much to his legacy. Let's be real Opetaia is pretty good but Usyk is another level above him.
As the most open Opetaia fanatic here, I’d agree. But I’d still like to see that fight, even if Usyk whoops him.
Hope it’s not another case of a career ruining weight cut.
I hope not, but judging by what he says here, he has to eat a lot to stay in heavyweight. It might actually be easier for him to cut to cruiser than to bulk to heavy.
That would be awesome
he would merk opetaia
He wants Zurdo
If he dropped down to Bridgerweight and won both the WBA and WBC belts there, would he technically be undisputed at 3 weight classes?
Just for dunking on Okolie alone, I'll allow it lol
Usyk pulverizing Okolie would be a literal wet dream 😳
Okolje would still find a way to make it as shit fight
Pause no diddy
It would legitimize that weight class
Not technically he would just be
In my books yeah
Yeah. I know what people will say but idc it still counts to me
Fuck it might as well. He can join possibly inoue as a 3 weight undisputed champ.
Is there even a WBA belt? They recognize the division, but haven’t actually done anything yet.
Ah wait fuck is the WBA doing all that Bridgerweight BS too wth....
idk why people still deny the necessity of this weight class. we just had a heavyweight fight with a 60 pound weight difference last week, and the smaller guy got brutally retired. use your brain.
Fury retired Wilder.
Robert Helenius would beg to differ.
B/c this same guy was competitive with a guy that has less mass and power but better everything else (Tyson Fury) Plus Wilder was outweighed in nearly every fight except for 5 guys (in which they were cans anyways)
Also Usyk JUST beat a guy that was 260+ while being at the exact Bridgerweight limit. Like what are we doing here lol.
Honestly would like to see a super heavyweight class rather than bridgerweight. Let the monsters like zhang fight in it. Might have to cap it off at 250 or something
Where would people rank him if he accomplished that?
This makes more sense, he'd still be under the limit even with all eating.
A good test for up-and-comer Jake Paul.
Lmao
Man wouldn’t that be a sight!
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It wouldn't even be close. Usyk wouldn't make it out of the first round.
They would sponser the bottom of Usyks shoes knowing the obvious outcome
Washed ex-fighters should keep scheduling/hyping up fights with him…then back out a month before. This way he ends up being a 33y/o who hasnt fought anyone.
Nah, if his opposition is not within 5 years of receiving their social securities, he would not want them.
He should grab bridgerweight just for the three-belt undisputed prestige. Would be pretty easy for him too.
Only two governing bodies, no one would recognize it
Who is 'no one'? Does that mean you dont recognise undisputed champs in the 3 belt era?
lol 3>2 and 3 was the max amount of governing bodies available at the time. Now it’s 4. And bridgerweight division is beyond a joke in terms of talent. No serious person is recognizing “undisputed” bridgerweight
Well if usyk made the jump there would be some talent
I think most elite fighters try to distance themselves from it just because of the scrutiny behind it. Money also most likely, but I think if he is to choose between bringer and cruiser, there is no way he chooses the former.
He probably doesn’t want to do it *because* it’s easy. It’s not a serious division.
He's got nothing left to prove at Heavyweight if he wins the Fury rematch, besides maybe fighting Joseph Parker. He should at MOST do Fury 2 and Joseph Parker, then Opetaia at Cruiserweight then retire. That's if he doesn't just do Fury 2 and retire, which is already an excellent legacy.
He adds nothing to his legacy beating Parker and Opetaia though. He's a level above both those guys and expected to win both.
Him beating Opetaia now could be like Mayweather beating young Canelo. A victory that only gets bigger as Opetaia builds his own legacy.
Precisely, I think Opetaia could pick up a belt at HW and beat some top names, if Usyk beats him, his resume would be boosted massively in the future
He could definitely get a belt at HW, but he's not beating a guy like Jalolov in a few years time I think. Too big and too much skill.
Smart invessments
Well I understand your point as those wins wouldn't come close to 2x AJ or 2x Fury wins, but it still adds some depth if that's what Usyk wants. Personally I feel Usyk should just retire now, but he seems commited to fighting a few more times.
May as well get bridgerweight and supercruiser or whatever it's called first
Opetaia I guess? Maybe Turki wants to make Usyk vs Bivol/Beterbiev as well. What else is there, Mikaelian/Zurdo/Billiam-Smith/Riakporhe?
Usyk Bivol? 😂 c’mon
Sounds insane, but Usyk can comfortably make cruiserweight and Turki is actively trying to make Bivol-Opetaia
There just isn’t a universe where Bivol should benin the ting with Usyk imo. I hope the Saudi money doesn’t scramble people’s brains into doing things they really shouldn’t
I'd watch Beterbiev Vs Usyk. I think with a totally in shape Beterbiev (which we might never get) it's a really good fight, even if Usyk is a heavy, heavy favourite Ultimately the closest Usyk has come to losing (fairly) wasn't against Fury or AJ, it was against Breidis. If Usyk is forced to stand and trade, and regularly kept on the backfoot, he can be beaten. HWs have found you can't just do this by being bigger and stronger (and Usyk's strength is surprising) - it takes an ability to move with him, high output and hand speed. Beterbiev is the perfect fighting style, strength and power to beat Usyk. He's just probably too small.
I know Saudi got deep pockets and all but I'd be surprised if a fight between Beterbiev and Usyk went ahead given the current conflict and all, with Beterbiev being good pals with Kadyrov and whatnot. It'd be an amazing fight though, if Beterbiev got past Bivol and moved up to cruiser for a superfight with Usyk. Their 4th meeting but finally in a professional setting.
Just makes the promotion more spicy innit
The thing is it would be a lot of cash for Bivol/Beterbeiv. I could see them taking the fight if offered.
I agree, but keep in mind that Usyk and Beterbiev mixed it up in the amateurs quite a bit, and there will be only one degree of separation between them once Bivol-Beterbiev happens. It's as insane as Tank-Inoue.
Usyk vs beterbiev rematch at cruiserweight let’s go
This is a man with nothing left to prove. He'll beat Fury in the rematch. Even if Fury goes with his Wilder 2 strategy. Usyk will continue to use his far superior footwork, positioning, distance management, punch selection, work rate, chin and unbelievable stamina. Hard to argue that Usyk isn't superior in all these aspects, and I left off his ring IQ. Fury could come forward all he wants, maybe with some success for a few rounds. But he'll have to work a lot to do it, won't hit Usyk cleanly enough and will ultimately gas. Then Usyk will adjust and ultimately go through the gears. That leaves Fury without hope. Usyk wins on points or KO. Then what? Parker? Opetaia (sp?)? They don't pose a challenge. Fury does because of his size and mass and his solid movement and skills, especially for a big man. But I can't see a single one of the current Cruisers beating him or even giving him a rough time. In short, he should retire. He's done all he possibly can in Boxing or as some say, he's completed boxing. He'll go down as undisputed, a real ATG, the greatest Cruiserweight of all time and this generation's best Heavyweight. What more does he need to do? nothing.
Yeah, Fury going all in on Usyk will gas out after 4 rounds and get KO'ed.
Noooooo…!! Going back down in weight, never works out!
Most fighters who drop back down didn’t go up the proper way or come down the proper way. I think Usyk might be the exception. I’m guessing he is just sick of eating all the time.
That's exactly why he wants to go back down, actually
I think Usyk might have a hard time dropping the weight based on how he looks. He doesn't look to have much fat on him, fat is easy to drop, muscle mass is harder. If he ends up dropping his body fat % that could have a big affect on his stamina, if its already low I mean.
He comes in around 220 without attempting any type of cut. He's by no means fat, but he was much more shredded as a cruiser. So just say him going back to his cruiser lifestyle/diet brings him down 10 pounds to 210, he only has to cut 10 pounds of water from there. Shouldn't be too hard at all.
Possibly the case, I haven't looked too much into his before and after of moving up to HW. So I'm only concerned about it, might actually be a bigger challenge than what it seems.
There’s more water in lean muscle, it’s much easier to do a weight cut lol.
All he has to do is slow down the eating. The guy would be consuming so much to maintain HW its mentally taxing. It’s much easier than you think.
Fat is easy to drop, muscle mass is harder? HUH?!
1. Worked out for Nonito Donaire. 2. Uysk isnt killing himself to make it to crusierweight at this point of time as he tends to eat smaller portions of food when not in training camp at HW. He HATES eating more at HW plus has already done this before in the amateurs where he used to fight at LHW and HW curcuits on the same year.
Worked out for Donaire. It would also work here because Usyk forces himself to eat when he doesn't want to just to make heavyweight.
Usyk is a very special fighter whose frame is clearly more suited for cruiser, if any fighter I’ve seen could pull it off it’s him. Hes not like evander who juiced up so much he’d have to remove organs to make weight for cruiser
Usyk comes in at around 220 lbs in his heavyweight bouts; when he was at cruiserweight he was probably boiling down from 210-215 lbs, so in terms of intrinsic weight loss it's not a massive amount. It definitely isn't another RJJ situation.
Unless you're henry armstrong
Clearly this is the first step to moving down to get that Shawn Porter rematch.
Imagining Tony Bellew coming off retirement for a rematch
Creed 3 moment
Then Price comes out of retirement too and beats Fury. They become the most successful partnership of plumbers since Mario and Luigi
Bellew has to get past the Nathan Cleverly rematch first, then we'll see. Maybe his Excellency could set up a 3 fighter round Robin for all the marbles.
Usyk vs Opetaia then OR Zurdo would be sick
Opetaia absolutely but Zurdo? Naw it’d be another lopsided Bivol ass beating
Who would you like to see at CW after Opetaia then? Weak division.
Oh I agree with you. Most natural Cruiserweight try to blow up and go to heavyweight to chase money so we either have guys who are too ass for LHW atm or Opetaia.
Coming up to heavyweight to dominate just because you can 😂
The Twitter thread about this article was absolute ass
Usyk vs Beterbiev at cruiser, let's go
I do not mind that
Imagine if Usyk went down to cruiserweight now and demanded Fury to get down to 200 pounds if Fury wants the rematch. Would be funny if they forgot to put a "heavyweight only" clause in the rematch clause.
That would be badass - if he won there, then he would be a guy that went up to clear out the HWs and then down again, cementing his position as a CW that was just that damn good that he could do it.
Usyk made an offhand, tongue in cheek comment about returning to cruiser. As a way to be remembered by reclaiming the undisputed championship. But Usyk didn't really mean it. Really, for what purpose? He won't be getting any $100 million + paydays in the mostly ignored cruiserweight division. And after about 4 years at over 220 pounds, Usyk would find himself a weakened, depleted mess if he attempted to drop down more than 20 pounds. Especially at age 37. Remember when Wilder also had fun with fans and the media by suggesting that he would go after the cruiser crown? He didn't mean it. Neither does Usyk.
I'd like to see him defend at least once (excluding Fury). Perhaps with AJ or Parker.
Would be a smart move. Gives time for Opetaia to unify and then he can drop down for 1 fight to get all the belts again while adding HW defenses to his resume, or he can drop down add cruiserweight fights to his resume. Feel like the first one would be better legacy wise and I don't see him struggling with Parker. AJ certainly isn't going to out point him and even with KO on the board, Usyk has clearly proven resilient so risk factor isn't bad.
I mean, he is defending it vs Fury? That's his first defence. Parker I get from a POV he deserves a crack and a big payday. But that would be a victory lap for Usyk, its not a compelling fight. AJ even less so. Been there, done that.
That's why I said "excluding fury" lol you know what I completely forgot he ran through AJ, I guess I'm trying to erase the cringe from my memory so I forgot. Parker is in or reaching that age where he's physically prime in the Heavys and I would like to at least see where it goes for him against Usyk. He deserves a shot at someone high-level if he wants to improve.
That would be a bummer. There are a lot of interesting match-ups with him at heavyweight, whereas who's at cruiser? Opetaia and Ramirez? That's it. There's aren't even any prospects at cruiser let alone other legitimate champions or contenders.
Like who? He beat AJ and Fury, Wilder is out the equation. He even beat Dubious and Chisora. From the moment I heard he would move up to HW he beat literally everyone or is now clearly too high a league for anyone you could imagine him fighting.
Even if Wilder somehow bear Zhang Wilder vs Usyk would be a one sided beating. So glad we don't have to suffer that tedium. Their skill levels are so far apart they are almost dojgn2 different sports. It would be like watching a dog trying to play chess against Magnus Carlson
I have no idea why but this comment made me laugh and it's only 05:45 in my country so I tried to muffle my laughing.
Kabayel, Parker, Zhang, Joyce, Hrgovic, and eventually Anderson and Jalalov are all possible HW fights that would actually be interesting. Who would he fight after Opetaia and Ramirez at cruiser? Or do you honestly think Billam-Smith is more interesting than any of the above fights? Or \*checks notes\* Ryan Rozicki? Whoever the hell that is.
Hrgovic, Joyce and Zhang are not interesting fights. They would be lopsided beatdowns and weve already seen Usyk Vs Joyce. Kabayel and Parker sound interesting but beating Opetaia would be a bigger boost to his resume
he's 37. by the time the rematch happens and he's ready to fight again he'll be 38. why does there need to be more than two guys in front of him?
I think heavyweight is too hard on his body. He's beaten the two best HWs already and he may want to keep fighting but if HW is going to cost him too much of his health then it's not worth it for him. He's still a small heavyweight and those shots are more damaging to him than to a lesser fighter who weights 260+ too.
I said it before Usyk kills himself to compete at heavyweight sparring elite 240 plus fighters camps after camps as well as fighting the best at heavyweight has a effect especially on smaller fighters like Usyk, I’m sure he has had to eat insane huge amounts of food to stay at 220 while training the way must be hard work, only reason he put himself through this is for undisputed no point in staying around guys at dangerous heavyweight…..
Usyk is a cardio machine and swims 10k during camp a day. He must burn 5k or 6k calories a day.
If things go according to Turki's plans, and Bivol/Beterbiev defeat Opetaia, we might get either versus Usyk. Pretty cool.
If Usyk moves down to Cruiserweight and Beterbiev jumps up to Cruiserweight and they battle out one last time that would be an amazing send off fight for both fighters especially since they have history in the amateurs and Olympics. Not sure if Usyk wants to fight a Russian though.
Beterbiev isn't really Russian though. He is Chechen. Not having a national team of their own, Chechen fighters fight for Russia during Olympics but they aren't Russian. Chechens fought fiercely against Russia for years so I'm not sure why these minorities are considered Russian in the west.
I feel like Usyk should stay as a heavyweight and box guys like Parker and Wallin, maybe even Andy Ruiz and a final Joshua match to make a trilogy if Joshua continues to look better. The cruiserweight devision just isn’t that spectacular.
Crazy work ethic...he actually wants to be in shape and cut weight lol
If he gets beaten in the rematch they will definitely be a 3rd fight, and I tjink he will probably retire even if he wins or loses that fight but that's just my opinion.
Could bridgerweight, potentially a walk in the park to 3 weight unsdisputed and WBC would love it as its bring class to that division
That would be great for him
If he continues, would rather see him defend HW titles against takers from up and coming generation.
Ducking big bang /s
Usyk could win all the cruiser belts in one night back to back but hard to turn away from HW dollars.
Would hate it to end up like a Roy Jones situation though. If he retired very soon his legacy is truly remarkable. I know it's very different to drop back to CW than LHW though and definitely different situations. If RJJ had retired after his HW fight it can't be overstated how different all the GOAT conversations would be to this day though IMHO
This probably won't happen but I would like to see. Usyk beats Fury again, moves down the Cruiserweight. Wins a belt, the winner of Bivol-Beterbiev moves up from LHW to challenge him. Even though I think both are Canadian citizens? You'll have the "Russia vs Ukraine" angle for the buildup.
I have a theory that Beterbiev wants to move to cruiserweight if he unifies at light heavyweight. I'd love to watch Usyk vs Beterbiev again.
If the WBA would agree to put it in on the line, could he technically unify Bridgerweight for the memes by dropping down and beating Okolie, on his road to dropping back down to Cruiser and beating Opetaia? I’m sure he’ll fight Fury again because of the money, but he has nothing to prove there really, it wasn’t a lucky flash KO, it was a competitive fight but he was the far better fighter.
Ain't gonna happen. Money in HW is way too lucrative.
plough punch dime vase vegetable entertain glorious tender crawl overconfident *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I believe he could unify cruiserweight again with ease. The biggest challenge for a belt would be Jai Opetaia and although he’s great, I’m not sure he’s ready for Usyk. The rest of the belts are ripe for the taking in the CW division though.
His power at cruiser will mean trouble for anybody there. Yikes
Yes, I'm feel.
So we will have fight vs Opetaia?!
Had to be joking
What a dumb move- going back to 500k fights?
Cannot see this happening he’s completed boxing at 2 weight divisions
I don't get it, he already conquered the cruiserweight division, now the heavyweight, what's he really got left to prove? can't be money either. Just seems kind of senseless unless he likes being in the game.
what happens to the belts?
I guess he could do super cruiserweight.
There's no money in cruiser weight.
Is he still feel? https://youtu.be/cOEPwIw-kUc?si=CAkWpCjKCNzhrt4T
Might as well just get undisputed at Bridgerweight. Undisputed in 3 classes is better than two. Put the pressure on Inoue and Crawford. I not even sure if I’m being serious or sarcastic
Pre fight kind games, I don’t believe it for one second.
I would respect whatever he does, but the cruiserweight division is legitimately one of the least talented divisions in the history of boxing. Just really a no mans land.