By: Waqas Ali
Oleksandr Usyk could be on the verge of stepping into the heavyweight division and facing either Cuban beast Luiz Ortiz or Russian Alexander Povetkin.
Usyk boasts a record of 16 victories and is the undisputed cruiserweight champion – holding the WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF and the Ring Magazine titles simultaneously.
Without a doubt Usyk is one of the best talent in boxing today and brings a variety of skills, styles and techniques that really cluster the meat of his talent.
According to Michael Benson via Fight News, Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk stated that there is a “70% chance” of making a matchup against Povetkin or Ortiz.
Krassyuk also said that fighters such as Jarrell Miller and Joseph Parker turned down the option of fighting Usyk.
However, according to Parkers’ promoter David Higgns, he denied any rejection of Usyk and that they did not receive any communication from the Usyk camp.
Interesting to note the fact that when Dillian Whyte was asked about future opponents he would like to face, he did not mention Usyk.
“There’s five possible fighters [Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Jarrell Miller, Dominic Breazeale and Deontay Wilder] out there for me,” Whyte said to IFL TV.
When asked about Usyk specifically, he dismissed him as a potential opponent.
“He’s a good fighter, but no one knows who he is,” Whyte said.
“He speaks no English. What I’m saying is he’s not really a big fight for me. The hardcore boxing fans will watch it [Whyte vs. Usyk], but imagine trying to sell Usyk-Dillian Whyte to the general public.”
One theory of this dismissal could be the fact that Whyte (25W, 18KOs -1L) is looking for the rematch against Anthony Joshua who is the unified heavyweight champion.
But in particular Ortiz and Povetkin are the main head-to-heads for Usyk, should his camp announce his debut at heavyweight and pick one of them.
But what does each fighter bring to the table?
Povetkin, 39, has a record of 34 wins (24 KOs) and two losses. In his last ten bouts, he won eight and six of them were by stoppages. His height is at 6 foot 2 inches and a reach of 75 inches.
Though Usyk would gain advantage since his height is 6 foot 3 with a 78 inch reach.
Povetkin is a conventional fighter and does have effective that could the smaller Usyk problems. Both are Olympic Gold medal winners from their countries of Russia and Ukraine. It would sell well in either countries or even in the United States.
Ortiz, 39, also boasts a record of 30 wins, 26 by KO, one loss and two no contests. His knockout ratio stands at 79%.
In his last ten bouts, he’s won nine, eight by KO and only one decision. His reach is similar to Usyks of 78”. This would mean that the range and distance could be of an interesting contest.
He has exceptional punching power and the ratio figure speaks for itself. Lacks the footwork but can break the range every now and when it comes throwing the overhand right hes follows it up with the right.
The Cuban is also a southpaw and majority of Usyks opponents are orthodox. This would put Ortiz in the lead due to the fact that Usyk has not fought any competitive southpaws.
According to a poll conducted by @boxingroyalty1, out of over 1600 plus voters 50% picked Povetkin to fight Usyk and 38% chose Ortiz.
Who would you like to see Oleksandr Usyk fight next? #boxing #boxeo .@usykaa
— Boxing Royalty (@boxingroyalty1) January 6, 2019
One thing about Usyk is his punches are sweet but sour to taste.
Based on the styles and variations of each fighter I would say that on a selling point it would be with Povetkin because a Russian and a Ukrainian could gather a mega crowd in their home lands. They would make more money than opposed to having Ortiz travelling to foreign lands to sell. It’s an unfortunate reality but I suspect that even Ortiz will acknowledge this. Boxing today is more to do with stage than skills. Like quality over quantity.
From a stylistic point of view, I believe Ortiz is the stronger and powerful one of the two. Just as I mentioned in the analysis, his knockout ration is high and he has more weapons to fire than Povetkin has. For someone who comes in at 240 plus on fight night could be a problem for Usyk. We saw what happened in the Bellew fight. He was countered multiple times. The comprehension of taking those punches at heavyweight against someone like Ortiz would be devastating.
With regards to Whyte turning down Usyk, as I mentioned in the analysis, Whyte in his mind shouldn’t fight Usyk because he realises that he has more chance of losing to him and therefore it will cost him his chance of rematching with Joshua again. Of course from a hardcore boxing fans’ point view it is preposterous to even deny him a fight. The fact that Usyk can’t speak English is irrelevant. Saul Alvarez can’t speak English yet he’s the most paid boxer and the biggest name in boxing today. Whyte said that the bout wouldn’t sell. No doubt it probably make as much money as it would a second fight with AJ but at least fight could elevate Whyte back in the main elites. Usyk fought Bellew at the Manchester Arena. A venue with a capacity of over 20,000 and the viewership for that was over 600,000. Whatever the case maybe, I recognise the reasoning’s for Whyte’s reasoning on declining Usyk.
