By Ian S Palmer
All the cruiserweight titles will be on the line this Saturday, November 10th as unbeaten and undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine battles England’s Tony Bellew. Usyk unified the belts in July in the final of the World Boxing Super Series when he beat Murat Gassiev by a unanimous decision. Bellew last fought in May when he stopped David Haye in the fifth round in a heavyweight rematch. The 12-round bout will be taking place at the Manchester Arena in England and can be seen in the USA and live on DAZN while fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Box Office. Usyk is the fist man ever to hold the WBO, IBF, WBA and WBC Cruiserweight Belts at the same time. He was the WBO and WBC champ when he beat Murat Gassiev, the IBF and WBA champ.
Usyk is 31 years old and has a perfect record of 15-0 along with 11 Kos. He won the WBO Title by beating Krzysztof Glowacki by unanimous decision in September, 2016 in Poland. He then defended it against Thabiso Mchunu with a ninth-round stoppage three months later and against Michael Hunter in April of last year. He then stopped Marco Huck in 10 rounds before taking the WBC title from Mairis Briedis by majority decision last January. Usyk is a 6-foot-3-inch southpaw with a reach of 78 inches. He turned pro back in 2013 and has boxed 117 rounds since then.
Usyk has good power as his current knockout ratio stands at 73 per cent, but he’s been taken the distance in four of his past six and three of his past four outings. The only men to last the distance with him have been Gassiev, Hunter, Glowacki and Briedis. Usyk also has victories over some relative unknowns over in Europe. He had an excellent amateur career as he competed at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China and then won the gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 2012 Games in London. He also won bronze and gold at World Amateur Championship tournaments in 2009 and 2011 respectively.
Bellew of Liverpool will turn 36 a couple of weeks after the fight, but he’s still a contender in the division. He also proved he’s a capable heavyweight as Bellew he won the first grudge match with David Haye in March, 2017 via an 11th- round stoppage and stopped him in the fifth stanza in the rematch. Bellew won the vacant WBC Cruiserweight crown with a third-round stoppage over Ilunga Makabu of the Congo in May, 2016 and then defended it against BJ Flores five months later. He’s also a former European and British champion who enters the ring with a record of 30-2-1 with 20 Kos.
Bellew had previously lost a pair of title shots in the light heavyweight division as he was stopped by WBC Champion Adonis Stevenson in six rounds in 2013 and Nathan Cleverly beat him by majority decision for the WBO crown in 2011 for his only defeats as a pro. Bellew moved up to the cruiserweight division after Stevenson stopped him in November of 2013. He’s beaten the likes of Haye, Flores, Makabu, Mateusz Masternak, Arturs Kulikauskis, Valery Brudov, Ivica Bacurin and Julio Cesar Dos Santos. His lone draw came in 2013 against Isaac Chilemba as a light heavyweight.
Bellew decisioned Chilemba and Cleverly in rematches and stopped Edison Miranda in the ninth-round in 2012. He turned pro in 2007 and has 216 rounds under his belt. He’s not an overly-powerful puncher and his current knockout ratio is 61 per cent. He also stands 6-feet-3-inches tall, the same as Usyk, but he has a four-inch disadvantage in reach. Bellew has good technical skills and likes to press the action, but his chin is also somewhat questionable after Stevenson stopped him a few years ago. Like Usyk, Bellew enjoyed a successful amateur career and has captured several regional and minor titles as a pro including British, European and Commonwealth Crowns.
Prediction…
Both boxers have good knockout ratios, but aren’t really known as sluggers or KO artists to be honest. Bellew relies on heart and determination while Usyk relies on his skills to get by. Usyk looked very impressive in his last outing against Gassiev and if he’s in the same form he’ll be very tough to beat. I wouldn’t be surprised by this fight going the distance or if Usyk stops Bellew. Either way, I expect Usyk to retain his belts.
