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As former undisputed cruiserweight titleholder Oleksandr Usyk prepares for his September 25th heavyweight title fight against reigning champion Anthony Joshua, Usyk’s K2 promoter Alexander Krassyuk tells ESPN that Usyk has evolved into a natural heavyweight with the formidable talent to take out Joshua despite Joshua being the physically larger man.
Krassyuk specifically says that a fighter can’t simply hope to get lucky but landing a big punch (although it can happen from time to time) and that his fighter specializes in putting himself in position to land punches without taking return fire. And now that Usyk has been building up his body to compete at a higher weight class, Krassyuk is confident Usyk will put on a display come fight night.
“He has been working hard ... building his body for the heavyweight division, and he’s a true heavyweight now,” Krassyuk said. “No one can say he is a cruiserweight fighting as a heavyweight like Chris Byrd was. Oleksandr is a natural heavyweight now.”
Krassyuk would continue by saying that Usyk is currently the most popular athlete out of the Ukraine at the moment — even more than Vasiliy Lomachenko, whom Usyk loves as a brother. And with Usyk’s team convinced he now has all the requisite tools to take on the task at hand in Anthony Joshua, now is the time to show the world what he’s got for the heavyweight division.