An ‘undisputed’ experience

RICARDO ‘BIG 12’ Brown will never forget the experience of helping Oleksandr Usyk, who is now the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world, prepare for his fight against Tyson Fury.

“[It] was a great experience for me, and one that I will never forget,” Brown told The Gleaner yesterday, as he reflected on the one-month assignment in Spain as sparring partner for the champ, who defeated Fury by split decision on May 18, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Starting preparations for his unification fight with Fury, early this year, Usyk, who is 6’3” tall and weighs 224 pounds, wanted a sparring partner who had punching power, and a height and weight similar to that of his opponent, Fury, who punches hard, is 6’ 9” tall and weighs 262 pounds.

Brown had all the requirements. He is renowned as a power puncher, having won all his 11 fights by way of knockout, and in addition, is 6’ 7 1/2 “ tall and weighs 265 pounds.

Brown was therefore contracted to work with Usyk at his training camp in Spain, as he prepared for Fury.

Brown told The Gleaner he enjoyed the assignment immensely and learnt a lot in the process.

One of the biggest problems he has, he said, is to find sparring partners who are big enough to challenge him in training and who can take a punch. With Usyk, he had the opportunity to go hard in training and not have to back off.

There were times, however, when he got excited and had to be told to rein in his power punching, and work on particular areas of the champion’s needs.

That, he said, was a learning experience, as he would be instructed when to throw punches to the body, or throw uppercuts and at the same time he had to think defensively, as the champion was also throwing punches back at him and he had to be careful not to get knocked out.

Usyk, he said, hits hard with both hands and his power is deceptive.

“When you look at his size, you don’t expect the power he is generating, but when he connects, you feel it. He is also a very smart fighter and I learnt a few tricks from him that I will certainly be using in my future fights,” said Brown.

The fight itself was another great experience for him, he said. The atmosphere “was terrific and full of drama, and the fight was explosive,” he said.

It was a close, hard fight but there was no doubt in his mind that Usyk won.

“In fact, I think that he won by technical knockout, as it should have ended when the referee stepped in. Fortunately, however, he got the decision.”

With regard to his own future, he said that he is back in training, and is just waiting to hear when his next fight will be from his promoter.

“In the meantime, I am in the gym working hard, and when I fight again, I will definitely be better, having spent quality time working with the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.”