USYK VS. MUHAMMAD ALI In his prime, Ali was a sight to behold. The 1960 Olympics gold medalist was blessed with unnatural speed of foot and hand for a heavyweight, had outstanding skills and was as tough as they come. He fought everyone from his generation, and it was only after his three-and-a-half-year hiatus that he lost to Joe Frazier (UD 15) – a loss he avenged later. Ali’s larger-than- life persona took him to icon status, perhaps making him the most famous man in the world at one point, and inspired generations to come. He experienced everything in the ring except an elite southpaw – Ali only fought two during his legendary career. Roberto Diaz: “Ali was and will always be the greatest of all time in my book. Ali controls Usyk with speed and mind. Ali by 12-round unanimous decision.” Joe Rotonda: “In 2024, these are two somewhat undersized heavyweights, but with great speed and athleticism. Both are so technically on point, I think the biggest deciding factor here would have to be the speed. Not that Usyk doesn’t possess quickness on his end, but
Muhammad, in my opinion, does have the edge here. The movement, agility, plus the quick jab will make it difficult for Usyk to really get into a rhythm. Muhammad Ali by close decision.” Jolene Mizzone: “The crazy thing with this fight is Ali didn’t really fight any southpaws, so I think Usyk would give him problems. But at the end of the day, Ali’s footwork, in his prime, may edge Usyk. Ali’s hand would be raised via 12-round unanimous decision.” ALI: 3-0
since he fought Thabiso Mchunu in December 2016, has peeked behind the mask and is well-placed to talk about what he has seen. “I think one of the most amazing things about him is this guy thinks he’s a middleweight,” said Anber. “He’s almost a throwback fighter in that regard. He fights the way heavyweights used to fight back in the day, where they were working for three minutes a round. They weren’t pacing and holding and grabbing; they were there for a fight. He conditions himself to be able to do that. Having been involved with him first and seeing how he trains, I can tell you that this doesn’t happen naturally. He puts this effort in and he works extremely hard in the gym to be able to do what you seen him do in the ring.” Following previous features on Naoya Inoue and Terence Crawford, we decided to enlist the services of reputed matchmakers Roberto Diaz, Joe Rotonda and Jolene Mizzone to discuss mythical matchups with 12 Hall of Famers and ask how Usyk might’ve done against these all-time greats. We’ll never know for certain, but it’s fun to debate. Here’s how they thought the respective matches would play out.
USYK VS. JOE FRAZIER Frazier was a very aggressive fighter who barreled forward and threw nonstop punches, including a very wicked left hook. If you couldn’t keep him off you, you were in trouble. The 1964 Olympic gold medalist was the first man to defeat Ali as a pro and was always adept at finding a way to
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