The Future of the Heavyweight Division

Had a few glitches , so just restarted this thread.
So with the fight last night , Usyk proved he is the man ……….but he’s 37 years old. And Fury and AJ are also mid thirties.
Maybe not imminently , but we are gonna see a changing of the guard.
Who do we think the future top guy or guys are gonna be?
I’m gonna throw this out there and say the the Heavyweight division will change drastically. I believe that in general (and there are always exceptions to the rule) the Giants of recent times are not going to be the top guys.
I reckon Usyk has shown that you can come up from Cruiserweight and bridge the gap if you have the skills and you can overcome the size.
I firmly believe that in the next 2 years, Jai Opetaia is gonna move into the HW division and be a big player.
I could see him give away 3 stone in weight and 4 inches of height and beat guys.
In a nutshell , Usyk has paved the way for Boxing skills to outweigh sheer size and power.
That said, Usyk is a once in a generation talent.

Yeah I think that's the key, generational talent. As a rule the cruisers end up being cannon fodder for the big boys or it becomes a case of a good big un will beat a good little un. Wlads record for example is littered with cruisers and small heavies that were good, but not Usyk good. I think that sweet spot for heavies 6'4/6'6 240/250 still exists. People like Haye can nick a World title and chin a few. But only the very very elite like Holyfield and Usyk can truly live with the giants.

It'd be rude to put Opetaia in the Holyfield Usyk class right now. So for the moment at least, he's in the Haye bracket.

OK he's at a level that's not setting the world on fire. But Moses Itauma is coming along nicely. Take the top two out of the equation and I'd fancy him to give anyone else in Britain a row.

The topic has always stuck with me as a nuisance. The whole dismissal by some that have come up successfully as "blown up cruisers" as well as the insistnace that sheer mass and size equals division dominance. Back to when Max Kellerman would harp every week about the need for a "super" heavyweight division because guys are just naturally bigger. At the same time mentioning examples like Michael Grant, Mount Whitaker, Valuev, Jameel McCline and of course Wlad. Well, 1 out of 5 was not bad as being behemoths did nothing for the first. And even Wlad was sparked out by three fighters who barley weighed more than the 'bridgerweight' limit today. Vitali lost to Chris Byrd who made a career of dancing around giants and naturally larger fighters. All the size...literally the largest heavy to ever hold a title...did not equal dominance for Valuev who arguably lost three in a row to Ruiz, Holyfield and Haye. All three having turned pro as cruisers. Now that may be an extreme case because as we all recall how Valuev was pretty bad but yes absolutely massive. In a way, he was the flip side example of how size can be misleading and at no time the be all end all in a match up. Skills pay the bills! Not to say all smaller guys beating much larger are skilled to the top tier but as we've seen a decent skill set, guile, ice in the veins and fair beard will go a very long way. And Usyk again reaffirmed that crystal clear after being dismissed literally as a middleweight. Holyfield before him and blazing some of that path also ;D. Those two specifically are two of the very best giant slayers to ever put the stereotypes to bed and define their eras.

It truly is all about skill set. The new era coming in is very much reasserting that more common frames and 230+ ish are more than formidable in the current and future division. Look around...where are the massive brutes set to take over. At 6'6 or 6'7 are the likes of Efe Ajagba, Filip Hrgovic, Zhilei Zhang, Joe Joyce, Frazer Clarke or Bakhodir Jalolov striking the fear of god into anyone? But we'll be watching that last fella. And where exactly is 6'7 Tony Yoka now :-X. Skills baby. You gotta have the skill set and mental metal and clearly Opetaia has the ingredients to work with going forward.

i've got to put justis huni in here, his lack of power might be an issue

Ruiz has ditched the gold digging leech who fed him 2 a m. Burrito meals and lost hella weight so I think we see Andy make a comeback

I think my post were deleted

Mark Petrovsky is only 6′ 1″. He can still bring tough fights

If Muslim Gadzhimagomedov moves up he will be dangerous

Jakhongir Zokirov from Uzbekistan is only 21 & looks talented to my eye

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Originally Posted by Ivan Zhelezo

I think my post were deleted

Mark Petrovsky is only 6′ 1″. He can still bring tough fights

If Muslim Gadzhimagomedov moves up he will be dangerous

Jakhongir Zokirov from Uzbekistan is only 21 & looks talented to my eye

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Yeh bud original thread was corrupted. Zokirov a southpaw too and with Top rank? They're moving a few solid heavyweights in the mix. Another one to watch.

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Originally Posted by NoSavingByTheBell

Ruiz has ditched the gold digging leech who fed him 2 a m. Burrito meals and lost hella weight so I think we see Andy make a comeback

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Ruiz is a tub of lard because a woman enabled him? ;D

He's got a fight scheduled against that piece of shit Miller no?

It's been 5 years since Ruiz won the belts. He's fought twice. He doesn't want it enough. He outboxed Parker with ease for half a fight. Didn't want it enough to get it over the line. He didn't want it enough to hold on to the belts after hitting the jackpot.

It amazes me that there are still people saying Andy this and Andy that. His commitment to boxing does not match their commitment to him.

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Originally Posted by Memphis

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Originally Posted by NoSavingByTheBell

Ruiz has ditched the gold digging leech who fed him 2 a m. Burrito meals and lost hella weight so I think we see Andy make a comeback

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Ruiz is a tub of lard because a woman enabled him? ;D

He's got a fight scheduled against that piece of shit Miller no?

It's been 5 years since Ruiz won the belts. He's fought twice. He doesn't want it enough. He outboxed Parker with ease for half a fight. Didn't want it enough to get it over the line. He didn't want it enough to hold on to the belts after hitting the jackpot.

It amazes me that there are still people saying Andy this and Andy that. His commitment to boxing does not match their commitment to him.

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I have zero commitment to Andy Ruiz but he looks like he got in good shape is all. We'll see

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Originally Posted by Spicoli

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Originally Posted by Ivan Zhelezo

I think my post were deleted

Mark Petrovsky is only 6′ 1″. He can still bring tough fights

If Muslim Gadzhimagomedov moves up he will be dangerous

Jakhongir Zokirov from Uzbekistan is only 21 & looks talented to my eye

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Yeh bud original thread was corrupted. Zokirov a southpaw too and with Top rank? They're moving a few solid heavyweights in the mix. Another one to watch.

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Zokirov is also listed as 6 foot 7 & won a 8Rd decision last month over experienced Agron Smakici, who is known for causing the cut that postpone Fury vs Usyk & recording a KD, could have been a knockout against Kabayel with the ropes keeping him up. The result is not recognized yet because of the ongoing dispute with the IBA

Zokirov vs Agron Smakici
https://night.iba.sport/video/6Ae9UOpgbvR6cG4A/

https://youtu.be/PVQljQAq7hk

According to Tyson Fury we have a middle weight Rabbit Sausage as HW Champion.

David Nyika :cool:

teremoana jr is getting more experience at the olympics, he could be one to watch

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Originally Posted by Big J

David Nyika :cool:

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Nyika needs to improve his defense
He still gets hit too much
That can be worked on
He can develop at Cruiser before moving up :)

Nyika has signed with Duco & Parker promotions :cool:
I know where I'm going to be on September 14th ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izZCfcHuA30

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Originally Posted by Ivan Zhelezo

If Muslim Gadzhimagomedov moves up he will be dangerous

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Muslim Gadzhimagomedov will fight Zhaoxin Zhang on July 12th for the vacant WBA Bridgerweight Title. His move to heavyweight could be coming sooner than expected

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Originally Posted by Big J

Nyika has signed with Duco & Parker promotions :cool:
I know where I'm going to be on September 14th ;)

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Nyika is fighting Blake Caparello :-\
I'm not travelling to Auckland for that :-X

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Originally Posted by Memphis

Yeah I think that's the key, generational talent. As a rule the cruisers end up being cannon fodder for the big boys or it becomes a case of a good big un will beat a good little un. Wlads record for example is littered with cruisers and small heavies that were good, but not Usyk good. I think that sweet spot for heavies 6'4/6'6 240/250 still exists. People like Haye can nick a World title and chin a few. But only the very very elite like Holyfield and Usyk can truly live with the giants.

It'd be rude to put Opetaia in the Holyfield Usyk class right now. So for the moment at least, he's in the Haye bracket.

OK he's at a level that's not setting the world on fire. But Moses Itauma is coming along nicely. Take the top two out of the equation and I'd fancy him to give anyone else in Britain a row.

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I can't believe we let Wlad get away with beating up the likes of Pianetta, Leapai, Chambers and the like. When you boil it all down, half of Wlad's title run was filled with scrubs.

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Originally Posted by TIC

teremoana jr is getting more experience at the olympics, he could be one to watch

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teremoana jr scored a first round knockout in round one over dmytro lovchynskyi. he fights tokyo gold medalist bakhodir jalalov in the quarter final on friday

Delicious Orie lost by split decision to Davit Chaloyan in the men's 92kg as another British boxer suffered an early exit at the Paris Olympics.

Orie, Britain's biggest medal hope in the boxing, agonisingly lost 3-2 to the Armenian in the last 16.

It means that four of Britain's six boxers have now lost in Paris.

"I've let everybody down, I've let Great Britain down, I'm really upset," the 27-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"At the moment I feel like it's breaking me, but I think in a few years, I am a mature enough individual to look back and think I gave it my all.

"I just have to lick my wounds."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics...s/c2lkw0n30x4o

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TIC

teremoana jr is getting more experience at the olympics, he could be one to watch

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teremoana jr scored a first round knockout in round one over dmytro lovchynskyi. he fights tokyo gold medalist bakhodir jalalov in the quarter final on friday

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teremoana jr lost the decision, i thought he did enough to win. looking forward to oleksandr khyzhniak v arlen lopez

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Originally Posted by TIC

i've got to put justis huni in here, his lack of power might be an issue

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justis has entered the ring top ten at heavyweight
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GUR__Hfa...jpg&name=small

two time
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GUpm8_Ka...jpg&name=small

bakhodir jalolov reminds me a lot of frankie liles.

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Originally Posted by Big J

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Originally Posted by Big J

Nyika has signed with Duco & Parker promotions :cool:
I know where I'm going to be on September 14th ;)

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Nyika is fighting Blake Caparello :-\
I'm not travelling to Auckland for that :-X

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Blake Caparello has failed a VADA drug test & will not be allowed to fight Nyika :-\
The promoters are trying to find a late replacement

Tommy Karpency will be the replacement to face Nyika :-\