Oleksandr Usyk vs. Deontay Wilder - Who wins?

[Ruthless-RKO]

USYK SEEKS WILDER FIGHT IN MARCH SOMEWHERE IN U.S.

Oleksandr Usyk still has his sights set on a bout with Deontay Wilder.

The Ring’s Mike Coppinger reported on the newest episode of “Inside The Ring,” which premiered Monday, that Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) plans to face Wilder (45-4-1, 43 KOs) sometime in March in the United States. Coppinger added that Usyk wants to face the former WBC heavyweight champion in part because he wants a big fight in the U.S. before retiring.

Usyk, who holds The Ring belt, has fought in the U.S. three times. The Ukrainian southpaw last fought in the States in October 2019, when he scored a seventh-round stoppage of Chazz Witherspoon at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

Usyk, 39, narrowly avoided being on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in sports history in his last fight, which resulted in an 11th-round stoppage of Rico Verhoeven on May 23 at Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. In the waning moments of the 11th round, Usyk dropped the former Glory Kickboxing heavyweight champion with a right uppercut.

He swarmed Verhoeven (1-1, 1 KO) after he rose to his feet, and with the round about to end, referee Mark Lyson stopped the fight. Verhoeven, 37, led 96-94 on judge Pasquale Procopio’s scorecard, while judges Fabian Guggenheim and Manuel Oliver Palomo had it 95-95 at the time of the stoppage.

Usyk, ranked No. 2 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, is a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion and also achieved the feat at cruiserweight. He vacated the IBF, WBA and WBC heavyweight titles shortly after beating Verhoeven.
Wilder, 40, is coming off a split-decision victory over Derek Chisora on April 4 at O2 Arena in London.

The Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native won the WBC heavyweight title in January 2015, when he went the distance for the first time in his career in a unanimous-decision victory over Bermane Stiverne. He defended that belt 10 times before suffering his first loss, a seventh-round stoppage against Tyson Fury in their second bout in February 2020.

Wilder has gone 3-3 since losing to Fury, including a devastating 11th-round knockout defeat in their third fight in October 2021.

[PRINCEKOOL]

It makes sense really 'I have always referred to Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder as? The three heavyweight mountains of this era'.

Note: Oleksandr Uysk has for many years, clearly looked up to those three fighters 'and had ambitions to fight them, even most likely while he was a cruiserweight fighter'.

Oleksandr Uysk has fought both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua twice back to back 'so now he wants to fight Deontay Wilder, who has of late in my opinion? Got a creditable win back on his resume vs. Derek Chisora'.

Beating Chisora was no all-time great win 'but they were both in a real fight, and the facts are? Deontay Wilder was brought over to the Great Britain, to get smashed up for Chisora's retirement party. That never went to plan, because Deontay Wilder found a way to win'

But of course like I stated in my first post in this thread 'Oleksandr Uysk should win' etc.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Seems this fight is dead

[Ruthless-RKO]

According to Shelly Finkel, Usyk asked for more money than Zuffa or Turki wanted to pay him.

[joshj909]

According to Shelly Finkel, Usyk asked for more money than Zuffa or Turki wanted to pay him.

Might as well just chuck Usyk in with Kabayel and get him retired then. Nothing else is coming together.

[PRINCEKOOL]

Interesting potential match up, Opetaia vs. Wilder 'Jai Opetaia hits with power at Cruiserweight, but? If his power does not translate into the heavyweight divisions. Then Deontay Wilder is live in this fight, and can win'.

Note: Many people heavily critiqued Anthony Joshua's punch resistance 'but the reality is? Every time he has been decked, he gets back up. And 99.99% of the time with a smile on his face. Joshua even got up against Dubois in round fight just after the count of 10'.

Out of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Deontay Wilder 'I would say that Wilder has always had the worst durability levels'.

But I would give him a chance of beating Jai Opetaia if he can withstand his power etc.

[gilgamesh]

Apparently Wilder vs Gassiev is a possibility as well.

[tiny_acres]

Apparently Wilder vs Gassiev is a possibility as well.

He may get beat but I think he can knock out Gassiev

[gilgamesh]

Apparently Wilder vs Gassiev is a possibility as well.

He may get beat but I think he can knock out Gassiev

I'd think so as well. Honestly he could outbox Gassiev even. Gassiev is no better than Chisora if even that good.

[golden_labrador]

Gassiev was terrible in his defeat to Wallin. how is he a champion? and how is chisora fighting him for a belt?

[gilgamesh]

Gassiev was terrible in his defeat to Wallin. how is he a champion? and how is chisora fighting him for a belt?

Wilder is being talked about to fight him on the undercard of Joshua vs Fury is what I read somewhere. Not sure if there's any verification to that or if it was just a rumor.

[784118]

Usyk was clearly the better fighter in his prime, but that version of him is gone.

Wilder has always struggled against top-level opposition, and I think he was matched carefully against opponents outside the top 10. He is past his best, too.

My biggest concern with Wilder is that his punch resistance appears to be gone, and it was questionable even in his prime. Usyk still has the defensive skills, footwork, and ring IQ to avoid punches, while Wilder has significant holes in his defense and a questionable chin. At this stage, Wilder's biggest remaining asset is his power.

If they fought today, I would expect Usyk to win virtually every round until he stops Wilder. That said, Usyk's most recent performance was far from convincing, so I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of an upset. I would set the odds as 5-1 against. Say a 20% chace of an upset.

This fight would have been far more compelling five years ago, when both men were closer to their peaks.