A Gold medalist at the London Olympics at 2012 in the heavyweight weight category, Oleksandr Usyk makes his return to the ring this coming weekend.
The talented pugilist will be taking on Mairis Breidis in Latvia. Usyk will have the opportunity to add the WBC Cruiserweight title to his WBO scrap in the WBSS cruiserweight semi-final.
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Usyk intends to move one step closer toward the final of the tournament as the Cruiserweight division seeks clarity by unveiling a standout champion who has claimed the precious Muhammad Ali trophy.
Mairis Breidis booked his place in the WBSS semi-final stage by outpointing Cuba’s Mike Perez at the end of September. Usyk shared he wasn’t too impressed by the Latvian’s performance in that fight.
“I’ve watched this fight many times now,” Usyk said, referring to Breidis-Perez, as part of a promotional documentary for their fight.
“There’s too much hugging in this fight. Why didn’t the referee say, ‘Break?’ What’s this charade for?” Usyk stated.
“[Breidis] does it pretty damn professionally. He holds. It shouldn’t be allowed. Perez [didn’t] know how to stop it.
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Touching on what he would have done differently had he been in Perez’s shoes. Usyk shared he would have stuck with the fundamentals and focused on scoring with his lead hand.
“He doesn’t know how to work with the jab. The jab is the most important thing.”
“If he had worked with the jab. The fight would’ve been more difficult for Mairis.”
“To tell you the truth, I think he’s boring,” Usyk said. “But he became a good boxer.”
Lastly, Usyk did pay Breidis his just dues by referring him to ‘skilful’. fighting style and paid credit to the resume he has amassed but once again reaffirmed his dislike for his style of fighting.
“He’s quite a skilful boxer since he became a world champion.”
“It’s not easy to win world titles and win battles, and most of those battles he won by knockout.”
“I don’t like his [boxing] style, but that’s my own subjective opinion.”
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