Saturday night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois, 32-year-old Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs), the former unified cruiserweight champion from Kiev, Ukraine, in his heavyweight debut, forced 38-year-old Chazz Witherspoon (38-4, 29 KOs), the veteran boxer-puncher from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to call it quits at the end of round seven.
Fighting out of the red corner in white and green trunks, Usyk, who hadn?t fought in 11 months due to a bicep injury, performed admirably. An exceptional talent, he came into the fight weighing 215 pounds, 15 pounds above his usual fighting weight, and stylistically seemed unchanged from when he cleaned out the cruiserweight division. While he started slowly, as is his wont, his speed, athleticism, timing and footwork, no less than his southpaw style, were simply too much for the man he was facing.
Witherspoon, fighting out of the blue corner in burgundy and silver trunks, was fighting his eighth fight in seven years and came into the fight at 242 pounds, his heaviest ever. He also took the fight on four days notice, after Usyk?s original opponent, Tyrone Spong, was axed after failing a drug test. Under the circumstances, Witherspoon did more or less okay, but even if he has been in shape and had time to prepare for the bout, the difference in class between the men was glaring.
After an opening feeling out round, Usyk with his fast hands and high ring IQ began systematically picking his shots. His straight right hand leads and shots to Witherspoon?s soft body took their toll in no time. Whenever the Philly fighter tried to fight back, Usyk quickly moved out of range. He was almost impossible to catch.
Usyk threw more and landed more punches at a higher percentage than Witherspoon and for the most part looked good doing it. He needs more seasoning at the higher weight, and is sure to improve as he steps up the competition.
?I am very happy,? said Usyk after the fight. ?I was waiting for this moment. We had some difficulties because we had to change opponent, but I did what my trainer told me to do. The plan was to box.?
When asked if he thought he was ready for Wilder, Joshua, Ruiz or Fury, Usyk said, ?I?m ready to fight them. If they?re going to give it to me, of course I?m going to take it.?
In the co-main event, reigning and defending WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (17-0, 11 KOs) retained his title by outpointing Lenin Castillo (20-3-1, 15 KOs).
The final scores after 12 one-sided rounds were 120-107 and 119-108 twice.
Castillo was a 30:1 underdog going into the fight, and while it was something of a mismatch, he is a seasoned professional whose advantages in height and reach kept it interesting at times, assuming a glorified sparring session can be interesting, if never approaching anything competitive.
Bivol is a curious case of a fine champion who performs as if he?s still fighting in the amateur ranks. He is skilled, stylish, consistent, dependable, has fast hands, fine balance, sound footwork, and a good defense. Despite those qualities, he is not an electrifying performer, nor even an exciting one.
The win was his fourth straight decision and he seems content to pocket the rounds, to jab his way to victory, without trying to take his opponent out. He dropped Castillo, who had some success counterpunching, in the sixth round, which was the only memorable moment in an otherwise forgettable fight.
After the bout, with the crowd booing loudly in the background, Bivol said, ?Maybe someone say I?m a boring fighter. But try to win me.?
