Former world champion Tim Bradley believes Oleksandr Usyk should drag David Benavidez up to the heavyweight division, warning that moving back down to 200 pounds could backfire in the closing rounds. Although Bradley foresees Usyk dictating the opening stanzas with his southpaw straight left, his main concern lies in what happens when Benavidez absorbs those punches, cuts off the ring, and traps the 39-year-old champion against the ropes.
“You can jab the hell out of him upstairs and downstairs. Yep. Straight left hand down the middle,” Bradley remarked on his channel. “But if you ain’t got no strength to keep him up off of you, because that’s the thing.”
Watch Usyk’s stance the moment that straight left hand lands. In the center of the ring, Usyk uses a lead-foot pivot to shift angles before any counter punch lands. Near the ropes, however, Benavidez adjusts his footing to shut down that escape route, driving a heavy right hand into the guard and digging a left shovel hook underneath Usyk’s elbow. Once Usyk plants both feet to defend his body, Benavidez releases non-stop combinations while Usyk searches for room to reset.
Bradley pointed out that Usyk weighed 233 pounds against Rico Verhoeven, which is 33 pounds over the cruiserweight limit. Shedding that weight late in his career comes at a heavy physical cost. Usyk already appeared to have slower footwork against Verhoeven. Back in 2018 when he stopped Tony Bellew in round eight, Usyk was 31, fully adapted to cruiserweight, and had the endurance to pick up the tempo late. Benavidez represents a far tougher test of whether those 39-year-old legs can still execute fast lateral movement after seven rounds of relentless pressure.
By remaining at heavyweight, Usyk maintains the functional muscle mass he spent years developing. That added strength allows him to lean on Benavidez, smother inside exchanges, and sap the challenger’s legs during clinches. Rather than exhausting himself on the scale, Usyk holds the champion’s advantage to force Benavidez to carry extra weight over 12 full rounds.
