Murat Gassiev vs Oleksandr Usyk 21/07 in Moscow

ArtemV

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Not where Usyk wanted (for he wanted to fight on neutral ground), but should be an epic fight regardless, with Gassiev getting a slight advantage.

Apparently WBSS doesn't care enough to announce this.. but it is official and has many sources.

I am happy that this will be in Moscow.. because I should be there! I cannot wait.

I hope Gassiev wins this, Usyk didn't look great vs Briedis and got hit a lot. We shall see what happens.
 
Slight advantage? It's a giant advantage compared to where it was going to be held and unless Usyk beats him like 10-2 like Wlad beat Povetkin, I'm not confident in a fair decision at all. Especially against a Ukrainian right now.

Usyk didn't look great against Briedis either because Briedis is much better than the one dimensional Dorticos
 
Apart from a potential Deontay vs Joshua, this is my most anticipated fight his year.

Two warriors in their prime ready to go at it.

Gassiev is one of my favourite current active fighters, the guys a machine.

Glad they've figured this one out, it should be a huge event in Russia and at least Ukrainians don't have far to go to see the fight.
 
I'm glad it's happening again. It would have really ruined a good tournament if they didn't fight.
 
WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
 
Slight advantage? It's a giant advantage compared to where it was going to be held and unless Usyk beats him like 10-2 like Wlad beat Povetkin, I'm not confident in a fair decision at all. Especially against a Ukrainian right now.

Usyk didn't look great against Briedis either because Briedis is much better than the one dimensional Dorticos
One dimensional Dorticos might've KO'd Usyk or Briedis for all we know. Gassiev looked amazing in his two tournament fights, and Dorticos gave him all he could handle.

That said, even though I was rooting for and picked Gas Man, I actually in a way want Usyk to win now. All "away games" for the no1 seed, and here he goes again. Reminds me of Wilder's willingness to just make the fight happen. Because he believes he'll say what needs saying in the ring. Love it.

Thank god fight got made. Congrats to both fighters.
 
Usyk gets f***** hard by the judges no matter how well he boxes. The close fight is a Gassiev win under these conditions.
 
Usyk gets f***** hard by the judges no matter how well he boxes. The close fight is a Gassiev win under these conditions.

This is my reservation. On the one hand I'm really happy that this fight is going ahead BUT I'm very concerned Usyk is going to get robbed if he 'wins'. I hope this doesn't happen but I'm not holding out much hope.
 
This is my reservation. On the one hand I'm really happy that this fight is going ahead BUT I'm very concerned Usyk is going to get robbed if he 'wins'. I hope this doesn't happen but I'm not holding out much hope.
It concerns me too, particularly because his opponent (Usyk) is Ukrainian. I'm really looking forward to the fight though. The winner (hopefully legitimately) will be the man of the division.
 
It concerns me too, particularly because his opponent (Usyk) is Ukrainian. I'm really looking forward to the fight though. The winner (hopefully legitimately) will be the man of the division.
Yep definitely not good that Usyk is Ukrainian and he has spoken out about the way Russia has treated Ukraine in the past. I think Usyk needs a stoppage to win, but Gassiev is the more likely to get a stoppage if either of them are.
 
Yep definitely not good that Usyk is Ukrainian and he has spoken out about the way Russia has treated Ukraine in the past. I think Usyk needs a stoppage to win, but Gassiev is the more likely to get a stoppage if either of them are.
That's the issue here. Gassiev is more likely to get the stoppage and also more likely to get the decision if it goes the distance. If there is a stoppage I'll be interested in how the fight was being scored on the cards up until the finish.
 
That's the issue here. Gassiev is more likely to get the stoppage and also more likely to get the decision if it goes the distance. If there is a stoppage I'll be interested in how the fight was being scored on the cards up until the finish.
It looks like Usyk is pretty much screwed but I'd love to be proved wrong. And what is it with this fight being announced by the Russian Boxing Federation? I don't get why they are so involved in the process.
 
As many have said, the deck would appear to be stacked against Usyk. I think Gassiev matches up well against Usyk to begin with and I'd have slightly favoured him on neutral ground, but the fact it will happen in Russia really tips the scales. It's good that the fight is happening, but something resembling neutral ground would have been desirable.
 
Assuming a fix isn't in, I think Usyk edges it. Both guys have great stamina and are good combination punchers, but I think Usyk is more mobile whlie Gassiev can be a bit slow on foot. Actually, I think Usyk's hand speed is better too. Both are experienced against good competition but I think Usyk has the experience edge. I think Gassiev is actually a bit slicker, but I see Usyk's angle-outs as a good weapon to avoid getting cornered.

As I see it, Usyk will closely win the first half by using his superior hand and foot speed to flurry combos while getting out of the way as Gassiev moves forward. Gassiev won't sustain anything significant: his combination of upper body movement and Usyk's relative lack of power will see Usyk outpointing, but not battering Gassiev. Gassiev will probably start to lay it on in round 7 or 8 and progress with more combination punching, But Usyk will survive and get the nod, maybe suffering a KD along the way. He's a smarter, more versatile and better conditioned fighter than Dorticos, so I think he'll have enough tricks up his sleeve and enough experience to keep his composure and survive.

Not betting on this one though. It's 50-50. Since it's in Russia, it might be Gassiev 120-107 if Usyk knocks him out.
 
Actually, now that I think of it, this is a bit like CW Canelo vs CW Loma. Neither guy is quite at that level, but an interesting clash of styles nonetheless.
 
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It looks like Usyk is pretty much screwed but I'd love to be proved wrong. And what is it with this fight being announced by the Russian Boxing Federation? I don't get why they are so involved in the process.
Let's hope he gets a fair shake if it goes to the cards. The announcement should've come from the WBSS (from Sauerland Promotions/Events) and not the RBF. I haven't read much boxing news for the last several days so I'm not current on some of these events apart from what's already been posted here. Interesting though. Their involvement should be strictly limited to sanctioning the fight. That's their role after all. They previously applied to secure this WBSS final and had to work with Sauerland to decide on the venue and location.
 
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