Welcome to another weekly gander at my bulging, bulbous sack and the marvelous money shot from within, which is always just one tickle away from exploding all over boxing’s purveyors of ignorance. This week, we have questions and comments regarding Usyk-Fury, Jake Paul, the summer boxing schedule.
Usyk-Fury
Hi Paul.
I think Oleksandr Usyk beats Anthony Joshua again. I see that as almost a sure thing. My question is about Usyk vs. Tyson Fury. How do you see that one going? Maybe I’m too much of a Ukraine homer (my family is from Kyiv), but I think Usyk beats Fury. You just don’t see his type of speed and precision among the heavyweights and I feel that Usyk will be a hard man to beat now that he’s established himself in the division. How do you see a Fury-Usyk fight going down?
– Frank
Hey Frank.
First of all, I don’t think it’s a given that Usyk beats Joshua in their rematch. It’s nowhere near a give, IMO. Usyk didn’t dominate their first bout and I think, in a lot of ways, Usyk’s win was more about what Joshua didn’t do than what Usyk did. With the right tweaks and an augmented measure of focus, Joshua could very well win-- and decisively so. It really could be as easy as sticking with his jab to not let himself be outworked. Maybe it’s kind of obvious here, but I’m not entirely sold just yet on Usyk’s long-term viability as an elite-level heavyweight. Beating an Anthony Joshua who cares about winning will help win me over. Beating Tyson Fury would absolutely force me to eat crow. But I don’t see him beating Fury. The big Irishman is just too smart and he has the kind of natural boxing skill (along with his 85-inch reach) that should nullify anything Usyk could try and do. I don’t see Usyk hustling his way to a points win against Fury, like he did against a half-interested Joshua. And if Fury is firing on all cylinders when they meet, I see a TKO in Usyk’s future.
Jake Paul
Hey Magno.
Do you care at all about Jake Paul? Thought I’d ask because I sure as hell don’t, but there seems to be some dispute among boxing people over whether boxing in general should care about him.
– Damon
Hey Damon.
I mean, not really all that much. I guess, as a fighter, I care about him more than your typical 5-fight novice pro, just because of who he is and the high profile he has. But I’m not “pro-Paul” or “anti-Paul.” I’m just a semi-interested observer. I have to admit, though, that I do get a chuckle from seeing the boxing “purists” tinkle their panties over the attention he gets. If I had to say who was the bigger enemy to boxing between Jake Paul and the uptight “purists,” I’d have to go with the “purists,” who oppose growth, expansion, and reform in boxing at every turn and treat the sport as their own private club.
By the time this Sack is posted, I’m guessing that we’ll know who Paul will be fighting next, after Tommy Fury was denied a visa to enter the US. If the Hasim Rahman Jr. rumor is true, it’ll definitely be a step up in class for Paul and even a full step up from what Tommy Fury would’ve brought.
In terms of being a promoter (and self-promoter), I have nothing but positive things to say about Paul. I’d even go so far as to say that he might be the best promoter in boxing at the moment (which is kind of sad if you think about it).
Best of Summer Boxing
Hi Paul.
This summer is ind of light on big fight action, don’t you think? The highlights, at least for me, are Usyk-Joshua 2 and, I guess, September 17 for Canelo-GGG 3 is still technically summer. There’s not much else going on this summer. What fights have you excited this season?
– M.L.
Hey M.L.
Yeah, I can’t say that anything has me all that excited, to be honest. Even Usyk-Joshua 2 doesn’t excite me all that much. Canelo-GGG in the very late summer is good. Danny Garcia vs. Jose Benavidez Jr. on July 30 has me intrigued for some reason. Andy Ruiz-Luis Ortiz on September 4 should be good. Teofimo Lopez, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Isaac Cruz, and Ryan Garcia are all fighting this summer and there’s always entertainment value with them. This Saturday’s Showtime triple-header with Magsayo-Vargas, Brandon Figueroa, and Frank Martin should be entertaining as well. There’s also Jake Paul fighting his first “real” fight against a “real” boxer on August 6. If I’m missing any big summer fights, please remind me in the comment section below. We should have enough to get us through the dog days of summer and to a fall that, at least right now, looks very promising (Spence-Crawford..please, please, please).
Got a question (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The best of the best gets included in the weekly mailbag segment right here at FightHype. Send your stuff here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.