DOES SIZE MATTER?
The Ukrainian’s pair of victories over Fury may have come as a shock to some, given the size difference, but not everyone was surprised. “Usyk’s performances in both fights were impressive, but honestly, it’s not surprising,” said Chris Byrd, who held the WBO and IBF heavyweight titles in two separate reigns in the first half of the 2000s. “A lot of people have doubted his ability to handle the big guys, but he’s shown what skill, speed and ring IQ can do. In that second fight against Fury, he was able to neutralize Tyson’s size and jab with his footwork and angles. It’s about understanding the nuances of boxing. “When you’re smaller, you can’t just go in there swinging; you have to have technique and you’ve gotta make every movement count. Usyk’s style is a master class in how to outsmart a guy who’s got that physical advantage. That’s the beauty of boxing: Size doesn’t always rule if you know how to use what you’ve got. When I came into the heavyweight division, I was a smaller fighter compared to my opponents, but my mentality and techniques overpowered and helped me to become a world champion twice.” Few people know how to box bigger opponents quite like Byrd. After turning professional at 169 pounds in 1993, he fought as a heavyweight in just his fourth bout. He boxed almost exclusively in the open weight class after that, facing some genuine monsters in the division, including Ike Ibeabuchi, David Tua and the dual powerhouses of boxing brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. All of them were either bigger, heavier or more powerful than him – sometimes all three. “I loved it. I went in the ring with the mentality that I was going to win, and their sizes never put fear in me,” said Byrd, a 6-foot-1 southpaw who rarely
came into the ring at more than 215 pounds. “And I fought some big, strong guys during my time. When you’re facing someone who’s 6-foot-6 and pushing 240-250 pounds, you realize real quick that you’ve got to work harder just to keep up and sometimes
take in harder punches compared to the middleweight division. “The size of these guys can overwhelm you if you let it, but that just wasn’t my thinking. It’s a challenge to deal with a guy who can stand in front of you and throw a jab like a piston
Jones was right. But the list is much more exhaustive than just Ali and Usyk. “The thing is, one size doesn’t fit all,” said veteran broadcaster and Ring contributor Al Bernstein. “Most responsible people evaluating boxing are not going to suggest that Evander Holyfield, for instance, who came up from cruiserweight, or Muhammad Ali, or even Mike Tyson, who’s the smallest heavyweight champion at 5-foot- 10, wouldn’t be competitive against anybody or couldn’t beat bigger men. “I look at it this way: The size advantage of some of the bigger heavyweights does make it difficult trying to imagine Rocky Marciano facing Lennox Lewis. That is a real stretch of the imagination to me because of the size difference. But I’ll tell you another reason why: There are other bigger heavyweights, and then there’s Lennox Lewis. In my opinion, Lennox Lewis is the gold standard of big heavyweights. Everybody else is different. “For example, I think Tyson Fury is a very talented fighter who uses his size and length pretty well. He presents issues for some of the really smaller heavyweights of the past, but that doesn’t mean that, as Usyk showed, that the smaller heavyweights couldn’t counteract that.” Bernstein hastened to add that being smaller, quicker and more agile wasn’t always an instant advantage, any more than being taller and heavier is. Success comes where size and skill intersect. “Some of it has to do with Usyk’s excellence, which we have to give him [credit] for,” he said. “But the size difference only matters in certain instances, and it matters more when the heavyweight who is really big is equipped with great things, like Lewis was.” History shows us that Usyk’s physical dimensions compare favorably to past champions too. Of the 21 boxers who have held the Ring Magazine heavyweight championship between 1922 until the end of the 1980s, only one was taller than 6-foot-3 – the aptly nicknamed “Ambling Alp,” Primo Carnera. The average height of the
“When you’re smaller, you can’t just go in there swinging; you have to have technique and you’ve gotta make every movement count.”
or lean on you all night. The key was always to stay smart and stay in good shape. You can’t outpower someone like that, but you can outthink them, outlast them, and outmove them.” By the time Byrd lost the IBF title to the 6-foot-6, 241-pound nemesis Wladimir Klitschko in 2006 (in 2000, Wlad also took Byrd’s WBO belt, which Byrd had won by stopping an injured Vitali), it seemed like the days of the moderate-sized heavyweight were behind us. Ukraine’s Klitschko would be the dominant force in boxing’s flagship division for almost a decade, until he ran into an even bigger man in Fury in 2015. Other big men joined the fray. Fury’s fellow Brit Anthony Joshua, coming in at 6-foot-6 and 243 pounds, picked up the IBF belt in 2016 and also retired Klitschko – who was coming to the end of his career – the following year. Across the Atlantic, Deontay Wilder was making a name for himself by knocking out opponents left, right and center. Standing at 6-foot-7 and typically weighing between 215-230 pounds, what the WBC titleholder lacked in bulk was more than compensated for with his concussive power. For seven years, Fury, Joshua and Wilder ruled the division. The only real question was who would be the next big man to take over the open weight class once these three boxers got old or retired. The answer was one that few saw coming. “Back in the 2000s, there was a lot of talk about big guys taking over, and you couldn’t argue with the success of the
Klitschkos, Lennox [Lewis] and, later, Fury. But here’s the thing: Boxing always has a way of proving those theories wrong,” said Byrd. “I never bought into the idea that the heavyweight division was going to become exclusively for the 6-foot- 6 giants. I mean, look at me and my career. I am 6-foot-1 and my opponents were huge compared to me. I think my career alone should show that this thought should be thrown out of discussions. And look at the past with Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier – they weren’t giants, but they still dominated. “My only sparring partner for my Evander Holyfield fight, Paul Nutall, was 5-foot-11, and during our training he gave me a run for my money and helped contribute to my win. So while the super-heavyweights have been a force, there will always be a place for smaller heavyweights who are skilled and smart. You don’t need to be 6-foot- 6 to win the title – you just need to be a complete, tough, intelligent fighter.” Byrd makes a sound argument. Yet there are still people who are astounded that a smaller heavyweight can not only compete with bigger men, but beat them. Midway through the 10th round of the DAZN broadcast of Usyk-Fury II, commentator Adam Smith posed a question to analyst Barry Jones: “Has there been a fighter of Usyk’s size with a better ring IQ? You can’t think of many.” There was a pregnant pause before Jones deadpanned: “Muhammad Ali.”
David Haye used speed, boxing skills and a big dose of caution to win a majority decision over the giant Nikolai Valuev.
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