British ex-world champion and current boxing commentator Johnny Nelson is known for his provocative statements. But it looks like he went too far when he said that Ukrainian heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) is an ordinary average left-hander, there is nothing special about him.
Correspondent
IFL TV gave Nelson a chance to improve. He says: “You can name the names of such left-handers, after which you all unanimously say: “Yes, damn it, this is a fucking left-hander!” Pernell Whitaker, Naseem Hamed, Manny Pacquiao… Usyk?… Well, he’s a good fighter. But doesn’t Anthony Joshua have a chance to beat him? No, it’s not. Usyk still has to work out the advances given to him. He has yet to fight for recognition and respect. He’s a really awesome fighter. But I’m not going to scream at the top of my lungs that he’s the division boar. I just shared my opinion.”
The correspondent did not give up: “Please explain to me. How can this be. Usyk won all his cruiser titles on the road and became an absolute. Then again on the road, he became the unified heavyweight champion. Usyk now potentially R4R leader. How can he be a mediocre fighter at the same time?
“Lefty. We are talking about boxers who work in the right-handed stance. If you really know boxing, know and understand its technical part and so on, you will agree with me that there is nothing outstanding in it. I do not deny that Usyk is very good. So good that he could even beat the big guy with a higher category. But outstanding?.. Stop it! I have given you the names of three prominent ones. And Usyk … Come on … ”Nelson explained his opinion.
On August 20, in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Usyk will fight in a rematch with Joshua – all the same WBA Super, IBF and WBO titles are at stake. Joshua admitted the other day that he doesn’t like where he is because of Usyk. And the Russian heavyweight Alexei Papin shared his memories of sparring with the Ukrainian: “It was not difficult for me with him, he had to be physically broken.”
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