Can't see him moving up for a few years. He gets asked about moving up all the time and he gives the same answer about not moving up until he's undisputed. The problem is it's really hard to do.
He first won the IBF title in 2022 and hasn't had a shot at any of the other champs since. I think he signed with Zuffa because he's hoping Turki can just will these big fights over the line with big money offers.
25 days later
Wow , what a war ,
Can’t think of a more entertaining heavyweight fight in recent memory, probably challenges the best ever fights of all time for pure entertainment value
@kidcalder said in Boxing Thread:
Yeah a throw back.. i was calling for Fabios corner to save their man... I know he has a hail mary but he took way too much punishment.
A brave corner is dangerous
Yeah , I guess while he is still standing he is still a chance , just like wilder ,
Must be hard to pull the trigger when you have a fighter like that , sometimes you just got to though, some of these fighters are too brave for their own good ,
Wouldn’t be surprised if we get a rematch, or Moses if they think he’s ready
@kidcalder said in Boxing Thread:
Fabios speed troubled DD early so Moses will have that advantage but no one knows how Moses will respond to pulled into a war...
Rematch clause is there for Fabio but he will take some recovery time
If there is @ rematch clause he will take it , you just never know, on a different day he may land that big shot
Congrats to both men, both afraid to fight nobody and prepared to jump in and have a tear up.
I think now the dust has settled, the big takeaway for me is Dubois is a very dangerous opponent for many , Very heavy hands , that jab hits like a jackhammer and his footwork is underrated ,
The fact he has quit on occasions when things aren’t working for him is maybe the biggest trap out there for some fighters , and a dangerous assumption, because do you have the arsenal to make him quit ? if not you will be in for a very tough night .
Maybe with hindsight Joe dodged a bullet when his fight was canceled, I mean Hrgovic, AJ , Fabio are in the area of 50/50 fights for him , and Dubois demolished them , Usyk is in a class of his own .
12 days later
@MiketheSnow said in Boxing Thread:
Usyk v Rico
Awesome contest
Sounded like a controversial stoppage. Did you see it ?
@MN5 said in Boxing Thread:
@MiketheSnow said in Boxing Thread:
Usyk v Rico
Awesome contest
Sounded like a controversial stoppage. Did you see it ?
Yes
Very close fight with Rico ahead on the cards coming into the 11th
Better 11th round for Usyk and he caught Rico on the temple late in the round.
Rico was rocked, lost his gum shield and had close to 30 seconds before the ref resumed the fight with about 10 seconds to go.
Usyk was letting fly and the ref called it with about 1-2 seconds to go
Arguably the ref could have let it go and more than likely Usyk would have ended it emphatically in the final round
Rico comes out with huge respect and plaudits
Only his second ever boxing match
Amazing athlete
@MiketheSnow said in Boxing Thread:
@MN5 said in Boxing Thread:
@MiketheSnow said in Boxing Thread:
Usyk v Rico
Awesome contest
Sounded like a controversial stoppage. Did you see it ?
Yes
Very close fight with Rico ahead on the cards coming into the 11th
Better 11th round for Usyk and he caught Rico on the temple late in the round.
Rico was rocked, lost his gum shield and had close to 30 seconds before the ref resumed the fight with about 10 seconds to go.
Usyk was letting fly and the ref called it with about 1-2 seconds to go
Arguably the ref could have let it go and more than likely Usyk would have ended it emphatically in the final round
Rico comes out with huge respect and plaudits
Only his second ever boxing match
Amazing athlete
Based on that one would have thought Usyk would have schooled him.
The old "styles win fights" adage seems apt here. Sounds like Usyk got a hell of a fright.
When you think how easily Joshua beat Ngannou then yeah, Verhoevens efforts are extraordinary.....and you're not wrong, he's a unit and a half.
Yeah styles make fights and Usyk struggled with Ricos style + his brute strength.
Usyk would KO Dubois tomorrow while Dubois could likely KO Rico.
Prob worse I have seen Usyk energy and footwork wise but he still managed to land the most damaging punches in the end.
Turki calling for rematch but hopefully Kabayel gets his deserved shot first
Sometimes fighters age overnight ,
First time I’ve seen him look that vulnerable,
Be interesting to see how he backs up with kabayal to see if it was just a one off
@kiwiinmelb said in Boxing Thread:
Sometimes fighters age overnight ,
First time I’ve seen him look that vulnerable,
Be interesting to see how he backs up with kabayal to see if it was just a one off
I was thinking Usyk didn't look quite as trim as before, and his opponent was agile and fit and refused to let him move around him.
What is interesting, at the point of the stoppage, most had Rico in front ,
But only one judge had him in front , 2 had it dead even 
With usyk having gained the momentum at the time , odds on he was going to win that last round and he was going to win a controversial split decision
The stoppage probably saved boxing from that embarrassment of reading out those cards
@kiwiinmelb said in Boxing Thread:
Sometimes fighters age overnight ,
First time I’ve seen him look that vulnerable,
Be interesting to see how he backs up with kabayal to see if it was just a one off
Happens to the best of them. Age and tough fights get them all eventually.
Fury and Wilder being the most recent examples I can think of after their brutal trilogy.
Has Usyk gotten a bit complacent ? as you yourself said only 13 days ago he looked in a class of his own prior to this.
@MN5 said in Boxing Thread:
@kiwiinmelb said in Boxing Thread:
Sometimes fighters age overnight ,
First time I’ve seen him look that vulnerable,
Be interesting to see how he backs up with kabayal to see if it was just a one off
Happens to the best of them. Age and tough fights get them all eventually.
Fury and Wilder being the most recent examples I can think of after their brutal trilogy.
Has Usyk gotten a bit complacent ? as you yourself said only 13 days ago he looked in a class of his own prior to this.
he has looked in a class of his own to date , 2 one sided fights against all of Fury , Dubois and Joshua
I suspect there could be the ageing factor , he is 38 and had a long career when you factor in his long amateur career, and privately there might be a feeling of I’ve achieved it all now , a touch of complacency yes , similar to when fury fought ngannou .
Boxing is going to shoot itself in the foot eventually with these silly matchups, particularly at heavyweight, when all it takes is one big shot , Kabayal as an undefeated mandatory deserved that fight ahead of someone from another sport all day everyday..
1 month later
Interesting developments in the HW division,
Usyk vacates his belts but says he’s not retired just yet ,
maybe a rematch with Rico is on the cards for him, and rather than hold up the division, he’s saying over to you younger fighters now,
We have some interesting matchups out there with the likes of Dubois , Moses , kabayal , Moses vs hrgovic probably becomes a very important fight now , the winner is probably in a title fight .
And don’t be surprised if fury vs Joshua becomes a title fight now ,not that they deserve it but money talks
