'Past Pretend' – Wladimir Klitschko vs Oleksandr Usyk – Ring News 24 | Boxing News – RN24 – RingNews24

With former undisputed cruiserweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk coming off another win over Anthony Joshua last weekend, nobody would think you are crazy for thinking that the 6’3’ heavyweight has a bright future in the heavyweight division ahead of him. After his achievements in the World Boxing Super Series tournament, I think it is a sure bet that the Ukrainian is a lock for the Boxing Hall of Fame after he decides to walk away from boxing, just like Wladimir Klitschko. Then a thought came to me that I have been wondering lately, how would a fight play out between both boxers and who would win in a battle between two kings in a quest to be the best in their country?
Let’s find out.
I have long felt that Wladimir Klitschko is quite underrated, even now since his retirement after being defeated by Anthony Joshua in 2017. It takes somebody with a lot of determination to come back from being severely knocked out on multiple occasions only to regroup with a new team and completely overhaul his own boxing style in order to become the heavyweight champion of the world. He did, and he dominated the division for almost a decade. He developed a good jab and big right hand. His footwork was swift enough in that he would be able to move back rapidly from hooks and jabs and his power was potent for all 12 rounds. Some of the subjective opinions that he was boring and a bit of a dirty fighter do have a degree of validity. There were a number of times when Wladimir maybe should have been penalised for excessively clinching. He also didn’t seem to prioritise entertaining the fans, instead opting to just get the job done. I think that is what hurts his legacy most of all. Campaigning in a pretty poor division in his time did not help either.
Currently, Oleksandr Usyk is wowing people with his high work rate, effective in and out movement, upper body defence and good recovery power as he demonstrated after the 9^th round when he came blasting back out in the 10^th at Anthony Joshua in their rematch in Saudi Arabia. He has overcome all the physical disadvantages that were previously predicted to go against him by using educated pressure and landing accurate punches. Usyk does not let many of his strikes go to waste. The acid test will be if and when he faces Tyson Fury in what would be a momentous showdown to see who is the best heavyweight of the modern era. But right now, he is proving to be a force to be reckoned with.
As for who would come out on top between Usyk and Klitschko, it is a tough one to predict. Wladimir has never really tried anything much different since being under Manny Steward’s tutelage. And he rarely took risks. There were hardly any surprises with him. You knew what you were going to see. He would likely come out using his jab and clinching whenever he could get the chance in order to use his body weight on Usyk to try and drain energy from him. But Usyk is so slick with his footwork that I think it would be tricky for Wladimir to achieve that. Klitschko was a patient guy, though. He was never in a hurry when he fought. And I think at some point he would score with a right hand upstairs which may unsettle the smaller man. But I cannot see Oleksandr allowing him to have regular repeated success with it, while at the same time landing punches cleanly enough to catch the judges eyes. By the end, the fight might appear close on the cards.
But I think Oleksandr Usyk comes away with a split decision after a hard tactical battle.
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