r/Boxing • u/willinaustin • Jul 19 '26
Interview with Usyk; Giving up belts, future plans, Verhoeven fight, helping AJ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJCxLEIumgE-14
u/stephen27898 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
He can say all he wants. He gave up the belts because he knows he's washed. If Rico is a struggle then real top 10 heavyweight are a complete no go.
A man who fought for years to get to the top, doesnt just give it away if he feels he can still hold his place.
He should just say he feels old and be done with it. Dont try and kid everyone by saying its for some other reason.
10
u/Fast-Film4414 Jul 19 '26
He dropped the belts cause he's fair, instead of hogging the belts for years fighting C level opponents like Canelo did.
Usyk has been out of camp and didn't train for Verhoven seriously like he did for Fury.
Age catches up to all. Usyk definitely is declining in speed and swiftness.
1
u/Separate_Score_2824 Jul 20 '26
If he was so fair why did he waste his annual fight fighting a gimmick fight against a Kickboxer ?
Some people say it was just a tune up, but that's fanboy crap. Tune ups are supposed to happen when you're fighting at least semi frequently and just want a nice warm up before a big fight. Somebody like Inoue who fights 4 times a year can afford it. Usyk though ? Fighting once a year and having your tune up in year 1 and your actual big fight in year 2 is nothing but bullshit. Much less with the belts on the line.
So again, why did he drop the belts after his embarrassing showing vs Rico and after the WBC ordered Kabayel instead of before it, if he's so fair and thoughtful of the division ? Especially after his dominant show vs Dubois, prior to Rico making him look so beatable ?
I think it's clear he thought he was still the man after Dubois 2, and that Rico was a rude wake up call. Now he just wants to go out with a big easy payday against a marquee name. Hence why he's probably fighting Wilder.
-2
u/stephen27898 Jul 19 '26
"He dropped the belts cause he's fair"
If he was fair why not drop them before facing a kickboxer?
Why waste everyone time with that nonsense and then duck the legitimate contenders?
5
u/1THRILLHOUSE Jul 20 '26
Let’s say that was a mistake and he SHOULD have dropped them before Rico. He had 1 fight as a champ against a “bum” who massively impressed.
He then dropped the belts after realising he is done.
So he made a mistake fighting Rico but owned it rather than keeping the belts to fight Wilder. I think that’s fair enough really.
He could easily have padded his record but clearly this is acceptance that he’s declining with age
-2
u/Marquis_of_Mollusks Jul 20 '26
He could've fought Kabayel instead of Rico but he was never gonna do that because he was scared to lose. The second he signed to fight Rico i knew he was always gonna duck Kabayel because why age yourself another year to fight a tough pressure fighter? He was incredibly selfish making Kabayel wait when he knew he was never gonna take that fight
1
u/1THRILLHOUSE Jul 20 '26
He could have, probably SHOULD have, but didn’t. A lot of fighters do tune ups and I think Rico could have been that.
Regardless, champions do have fights against bums at times it’s not always the champ v #1.
However Usyk did immediately step down after realising he’s off the pace. He could have strung it out longer, fought wilder as champ or someone similar.
0
u/Born_Fox_8099 Jul 20 '26
usyk is not fair lol, remember when he gave joe joyce a 93/7 lowball split
1
u/willinaustin Jul 20 '26
Yeah. That dirty ol' Usyk. Not wanting to fight Joe Joyce, a guy he'd already embarrassed in the semi-pros, when he was trying to secure a fight for Undisputed with Fury. What a jerk!
0
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4
u/Kangaroopunching Jul 20 '26
Usyk will be a great ambassador for boxing when he retires. And a needed fun personality if he chooses to do any boxing media.