Heavyweight Boxing

Morrison J

Usyk's performance against Gassiev is the best of the last ten years for me. Unbelievable. Maybe only behind Floyd v Canelo which I believe is nearly ten years old to the day.

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121098484#Comment_121098484

Twas a great performance, but Gassiev was quite pedestrian as well, and it allowed Usyk look even better..

squinn2912

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121094888#Comment_121094888

I need to watch the Usyk fight properly it seems that;s his acid test. He’s still got loads left in terms of age but yea lots of injuries have curtailed him for years.

selectamatic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121099129#Comment_121099129

If you're going down the rabbit hole be sure to rewatch his fight with Lebedev too. That was a belter of a fight.

The grit and determination Lebedev showed was top notch even though Gassiev proved too strong.

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121099491#Comment_121099491

Very good scrap alright. Lebedev just a bit too shopworn at that stage against a far younger and fresher Gassiev

squinn2912

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121099491#Comment_121099491

I do enjoy Lebvedev alright! There;s a few great ones I need to get in on. Didn’t even watch Usyk Bredis yet! Bredis still disputes it

OmegaGene

So the wbc have published their rankings and wilder is top with Aj next in line, they scrapped the previous eliminator they ordered without a reason and didn’t order purse bids as usual so it looks like these two will fight it out to meet the champion but who knows when that will be.

eddie Hearn said Aj wants to fight again in December and wilder wants a run out in November and he said 2024 could be a bumper year for the division - it could also be a bummer like 2023

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121101768#Comment_121101768

Exceptional fight was Bredis and Usyk. Very very close, but I think Usyk deserved it

megadodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121098484#Comment_121098484

I wasn't surprised to see you re-surface once Gassiev's name appeared. You always had a soft spot for him.

But honestly, I always thought he was overrated. He showed some previously unsuspected moves against a very sloppy Dorticus and afterwards you were quite annoyed with me and a few others who predicted a comfortable win for Usyk when they met. It ended up even more comfortable than we predicted and you seemed to be shocked.

You're a knowledgable guy, but that reaction always stayed with me. Sometimes people just get too emotionally invested in someone and can't see the wood for the trees. Gassiev is just not as good as you thought he was. I don't see him being a factor at heavy.

squinn2912

Had a look at the fight. Usyk was so quick then. Threw so much. Gassiev never gave it much of a go but he was only 24 at the time. It’s just I’m not sure if he’s a whole lot better now. Dortacus is very ordinary and just allowed Gassiev to hit him, even though he did throw some neat combos. I was amazed at how quickly Usyk could get the elbow down and move to his side to block the body punches. Barely got touched to the head. Gassiev looked well worn out in 11th. Like a lot of Usyk opponents I’ve felt they were better going for it a bit more early but they seem terrified of gassing.

walshb

Gassiev is not that good, really. I never felt it. I picked Usyk to do a real number on him. Gassiev's feet are cement.

In the Usyk fight, Gassiev was poor I thought.

Morrison J

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121107225#Comment_121107225

Haha I do rate Gassiev higher than most although I don't have high hopes for a good campaign at heavyweight either tbh. Too inactive and likely loses a lot of physical advantages. Wreaks of a guy who's looking to position himself for a pay day although bid mad he's still only 29. I think a fight with Wallin is 50/50.

I do really rate that crop of cruiserweights. Think it's as stacked a division has been in the last ten years (prob apart from super flyweight in the Gonzalez/Estrada/Cuadras/Rungvisai days) and Usyk and Gassiev were the class of the division for me a long with Breidis. I'm sure its all in the archives on here but the night Usyk beat Gassiev in the style he did I'm pretty sure was the night I became confident Usyk would beat Joshua too. Was an incredible performance and showed how far ahead Usyk was of the pack. I did pick Usyk to win that night but I thought it'd be far more competitive admittedly.

Anyhow in terms of best performances of the last ten years. I can't think of many better. Fury-Wilder II and Crawford-Spence up there. Loma v Walters would be up there also as the most punch perfect.

selectamatic

The big thing going for Gassiev in my opinion is the fact that the HW division is poor. I agree his footwork is ponderous but if his chin stands up to HW power he'll be well able to mix it with most.

It won't take a whole place pile to mix it with the likes of Whyte, Chisora, Charr, Ruiz, Dubois, Joyce etc.

A good win against Wallin would help bolster his claims for a spot amongst the "rest of" outside the top 4.

walshb

What we thinking this weekend, repeat/revenge?

squinn2912

Bookies have Zhang a slim (I know) favourite. I think Joyce will win this one fighting from distance. Zhang might well gas after about 6 or so. It’s a good one to see anyhow.

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121125887#Comment_121125887

You'd think Joyce should be able to get passed the left jab after a few rounds and stop him. But he can look very ploddy at times so who knows.

Bobby Baccala

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121126209#Comment_121126209

Zhang jabs with his right

walshb

If Joe speeds up his feet in attack mode and smothers Zhang’s offence, he can win

OmegaGene

Joe has never been fast and I can’t see him learning new tricks at this stage, his footwork might save him if Zhang gets tired but joyce can never get his head moving

reclose

Didn’t realise it was this weekend. Something to look forward to.

Zhang won fairly easy the last time around. You’d have to favour a repeat.

Hopefully a good fight either way.

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121127372#Comment_121127372

So he does. Needs to get past it either way.

I think we'll see two ageing fighters plodding about personally.

squinn2912

Yea sure that was the whole talk before and after the fight about how ill prepared Joyce was for a southpaw. The slower this fight is the more is suits Zhang. Joyce needs to be quicker and that round the guard hook could be useful for him. If he’s improved at fighting a SP then he should win. It’s a great match up anyhow

yourdeadwright

Can Joyce change ? does he have the ability to fight differently ?

His whole style & game are built around being a zombie & wearing people down , im not sure he can change it up ,

Very interesting fight from that perspective ,

Zhang has a bit of the Luis Ortiz about him as in the risk v reward isn't enough for guys to want to fight him but as he ages people will be more likely to take the fight

squinn2912

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121129589#Comment_121129589

Think that’s all fair. While Joyce may not have the ability to change much he can certainly approach it in a whole better way. That’s a winnable fight for him. I think he believed his own nonsense that he couldn’t be knocked out after the Parker fight. That’s looking like his career highlight.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121130370#Comment_121130370

I seen a interview & Tyson & Shane Fury both picked Zhang to win the first match because both felt Joyce had false confidence in what he was doing up to this point , They both feel Zhang is the most underrated heave weight at the moment , they also said if Joyce did win he'd have to pick himself up a couple of times as Zhang can really bang

walshb

Joyce doesn't have to change all that much. He simply needs to set a fast pace and close distance quicker. Not rocket science. Yes, he will get hit, but if he gets hit a little less, while making the pace very uncomfortable for Zang, he can win. Remember, even though he lost, he was still fit and still standing and still wanting to fight....the damage to the eye was his problem

ianburke

joyce just needs to keep that eye safe this time and he'll be handed a decision if he doesn't stop him. lost nearly every round last time out yet was only one point down on two judges and one point up on the other.

he was improving a bit before the stoppage which makes me feel he's worth a bet at odds against(he was around the 1/12 mark before the first fight).

normanoffside

Bakolie vs Takam and Parker vs Kean added to the Fury undercard with Adeleye vs wardley.

OmegaGene

adeleye v wardley arena even fighting for the belt because its out of the jurisdiction

geotrig

I'm on the fence with Zhang- Joyce 2 , there is definitely a way for Joyce to win but he needs to move more and from a quick rewatch needs to let go more ,I think he was too conservative the last day ....but it is understandable as i think to be fair to zhang he has a what looks like a great landing precentage on hard shots and good landing on strong jabs