Sure, he's not done yet, but does he now deserves to be called a ATG? Does he has a shot at surpassing Commander Vander?
FUCK NO to your second question! Prime Holyfield would have chewed AJ up inside of 5. ATG is still premature. But Usyk tonight cemented his place in the HOF. He's not gonna reach Holyfield greatness status though and its not even remotely close. It's a bridge too far considering Evander had faaaarrrrrrrr more talent around him. Evander beat the real Tyson. Usyk has the potential of beating some crackhead named after the real Tyson.
Actually, yeah, Usyk probably will go down as an ATG. Holy level greatness is unattainable though. And thats ok. Usyk isn't a failure just because he isn't as great as Holy.
Usyk doesn't have the time or division to surpass Holyfield; although he already has at CW. And yeah, I think he's absolutely done enough to be an all-time great. Glowacki, Hunter, Briedis, Gassiev, Bellew, Chisora and now Joshua make for an excellent résumé. Plus, it's all been done on the opponent's terms. He hasn't ducked anyone; hasn't robbed anyone; hasn't been known for any cheating; hasn't shat himself on the biggest stage and has always gone after the toughest challenges. Something else that it hasn't been mentioned much, is Usyk is clearly, way past his best. He wasn't half as quick, dexterous or fluid last night as he was back when fought Gassiev and earlier.
I might be a contrarian again, but aside from James Fatser Douglas Holyfield didn't beat anybody under five rounds, not even Bobby Czyz. Holy beats AJ obviously, but not bya walk over
Mike Tyson is my all time favorite fighter. I'm not going to sit here and pretend to like Holyfield. I hate that he beat Mike. people can say Mike was in his Prime when he lost to Holyfield all they want but Mike's prime was before Buster Douglas. After Cus'damato passed away Mike had solid wins but he just wasn't the same monster. I refuse to elevate Holyfield to the same level of greatness as Tyson just because a)caught him on the downside of his career or b)simply had Mike's number. Styles make fights and just because Milk Dud beat Roy don't make him an all time great hall of fame like Roy. As far as Usyk I think he beats Holyfield prime for prime. But as far as greatness it depends on what weight class. At cw Usyk is greater and obviously at hw Holyfield is greater.
He choked and made excuses in his biggest fight after being hyped as being on par with some of the best fighters ever. He's generally not a likable guy. Usyk performed in his biggest fight, and is likable.
So do you also dislike Pacquiao? And it's only in hindsight that Lopez seems a massive fight. It wasn't before the fight, and given how he responded when he knew he was down, I don't think he choked either.
I know this is a random post after not posting for ten years (but have been reading forum all along, got message from JOM on sherdog just couldn't remember password) Although I disagree somewhat with the everyone now is overrated I've felt that way about Loma for his whole career and am happy to see that sentiment echoed. "One of the best ever" at 10-2. And lost the only 50/50ish fight he ever had.
What you shouldn't forget however is that Loma was already small at super-featherweight and had exactly one good performance at lightweight (against bum Crolla) Plus, his fights against Salido, Russel, Walters and Rigo were closer to 50:50 beforehand than Lopez. I do agree the Loma-hype got out of hands but the criticism he faces is absurd too, considering how little a fight like Castillo I affects Floyd's status. It also shows what I have said for years: a p4p fighter needs to prove himself again when he changes divisions, instead of inheriting his status from lower. Good to see you btw!
Hall of Famer. Better than that fuckin phony Lomachenko. He needs a few defences yet to be an ATG.....if he smashes Fury/Wilder I'd give him that. So far at HW he's KOd some bum, beat Chisora and Joshua on points. Not bad but it's not ATG stuff. Yet.
Its not his competition. His resume and most performances are impressive. He needed 8 rounds to get the gist of Lopez. That doesn't happen to ATGs. The fact he had success vs Lopez tells me it was not down to size. He did not figure the situation out fast like a supposedly great fighter would have.
it wasnt holyfields fault the fight didnt happen earlier. he was chasing tyson for years. it wasnt holyfield who got KOd by douglas, it wasnt holyfield who went to prison.
