I won’t sleep on Parker anymore til someone makes him look weak again, but I agree. Dubois has improved just as much, younger, and smashed AJ more dominantly than anyone ever has IMO. It was just so one sided. That spoke volumes. Volumes that names like wilder, Zhang and Bakole can’t match. That said, I like both fights. No freak fights. Not Usyk’s style to take weak competitors.
Pereira called him out and wanted a crossover fight. Usyk responded but only wants a "show fight" (exhibition). Would the UFC co-promote it? Probably not unless they can arrange something with Turki. They let McGregor box but Pereira isn't the superstar that he was. Let's hope it doesn't happen.
i just think he's done it all, he easily beat dubious, parker has earned a shot but i dont see him as a real threat, kabayel would be interesting but has he earned it and his profile is low
True but he has to fight one or two of these guys if he plans to continue fighting. If that means rematching Dubois then so be it. Dubois, Parker & Kabayel all have some momentum at the moment. With the paydays and exposure the Saudis are giving these fighters the size of their profile isn't a problem anymore in making these match-ups.
Usyk would box Kabayel’s head off lol. Kabayel doesn’t have the versatility, size or power to be a danger to Usyk. He’s not a one punch guy. I’d say he’s a threat to almost anyone in the division except Usyk.
Kabayel would get picked apart by Usyk but his body work is effective. He knows how to place those body shots. At the same time it could also get him into trouble at heavyweight if he gets greedy and goes there too often. Investing in the body is smart but I actually think that he overdoes it. I could see him being too heavily focused on working the body only to eat a sharp counter to the head that KOs him. With guys this big & powerful it's risky to prioritize body work over shots upstairs. The former tends to be more of a longer term strategy (hence making gradual investments) where the latter is far more likely to end the fight promptly.
Parkers momentum is lost. He looked way worse than when he beat Wilder. He just got old.
I would retire. Awesome to be multiple division undefeated, and my brain intact. And still rich
The guaranteed purse money alone was $114 million for his last fight. Usyk's made nine figures in his career. That's generational wealth. He's always been more about legacy than money though. I think he proved this through his willingness to accept a shitty 30% split to fight Fury initially and it would've been in Fury's own backyard no less.
That and he wants to protect his investment. Exhibition or not it's a squash match. Pereira would always have a puncher's chance with that left hook of his but Usyk isn't a sucker for that shot nor is he chinny. Defending it has never been an issue and that's against elite level boxers.
Pereira did start off as an amateur boxer with an unusually high KO rate but it was against low level opposition. He's very hittable and Usyk is pinpoint accurate with a laser of a straight left hand. That would've been his undoing.
Both Andre Ward and Terence Crawford have said:
