by Pavel Yakovlev – In 2009, Russian boxing prospect Alexander Ustinov has emerged in the worldwide heavyweight ratings. Boxing fans and experts are now pondering the question of what Ustinov’s fighting abilities are, and what the future holds for him.
Presently, Ustinov’s record is 19-0, including 15 kayos. He is ranked sixth worldwide by the WBA, and he holds the EBA regional heavyweight title. There are conflicting reports that Ustinov may hold another regional belt – the WBA International heavyweight title – as well. Ustinov is clearly upwardly mobile in the ratings and he will face a top-notch opponent before long.
Last month Ustinov won a unanimous decision against former contender Monte Barrett. Arguably, Barrett is the most skilled opponent on Ustinov’s record, so this bout gives boxing aficionados a good chance to assess his potential as a fighter..
Ustinov’s demonstrated abilities against Barrett reveal a mixed picture: the Russian possesses some impressive assets, but he is also burdened with some serious flaws.
Although Ustinov took the decision by wide margins on the judges’ cards (118-109, 117-110, and 116-112), almost every round was so close that it was difficult to tell who was really winning. This writer scored the match 115-113 for Ustinov, giving Ustinov an extra point for a first round knockdown.
The following is an assessment of Ustinov’s fighting abilities based on how he has performed in recent fights.
STRENGTH: IMPOSING PHYSICAL SIZE, STRENGTH AND DURABILITY
Standing 6’7 ½” and weighing close to 300 lbs, Ustinov has a very imposing ring presence. He is physically stronger than most heavyweights, and his height puts opponents in the awkward position of overreaching to hit his head. In the clinches, Ustinov uses his bulk to sap the strength of smaller fighters. Impressive is that Ustinov is especially well built in the lower torso, around the hips and thighs. This suggests that his legs will remain sturdy regardless of the effects of fatigue or being stunned. Stocky heavyweights of this physique have a reputation for being difficult to knock down.
Based on his physical traits and his performances so far, it is most likely that Ustinov can take a heavy punch. Barrett praised Ustinov’s durability, stating, “his head is so hard, I felt like I was hitting a brick…I felt my hand crumble.”
Ustinov is effective at using his size advantage to maintain the correct distance between himself and his opponents. When necessary, Ustinov uses his heavy arms to shove his opponents away. Sometimes Ustinov even deflects punches by extending his arms outward in a straight line, a tactic effectively used by other giant heavyweights such as Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko brothers.
Ustinov’s punching power is respectable, although not truly devastating. When hit by his right hand, Ustinov’s opponents are usually sufficiently stunned that a series of follow-up punches can knock them out. Ustinov sets up his offensives by throwing strong, long right hooks to the body, and he tends to follow this punch with his left hook to the head. When these two punches score in succession, Ustinov demonstrates his killer instinct, and he unleashes barrages of hooks from both hands. Thus, Ustinov’s opponents need to respect his power.
Interestingly, however, it appears that many of Ustinov’s opponents have had little trouble tying him up. Barrett repeatedly and easily clinched Ustinov throughout their fight despite being outweighed by nearly 80 lbs.
According to Barrett, although Ustinov is strong, he does not have the pulverizing upper body strength of Vladimir Klitschko. Barrett also rates Ustinov as being less strong than Lance Whitaker. “Ustinov’s a pretty strong guy, but he’s nothing like Klitschko and Whitaker, who are the two strongest guys I’ve met, in terms of upper body strength,” said Barrett.
STRENGTH: FAST AND SKILLED FOOTWORK
Surprisingly for such a huge fighter, Ustinov is very fast on his feet. He effortlessly dodges punches by jumping backwards and using lateral foot movement when under attack. Barrett’s quick, sharp jabs, for example, often fell short because Ustinov was fast enough to pull away. Likewise, Ustinov’s frequent circling movements neutralized many of Barrett’s left hooks and right hands.
Ustinov’s quick foot movement is remarkable given his massive 300 lbs frame. This writer has very rarely seen such a large heavyweight move so lightly on his feet.
It must be noted that Ustinov’s skilled footwork enables him to compensate for his limitations in other areas, such as his ponderousness and lack of hand speed. Thus, Ustinov is like other heavyweights in history (i.e., Rocky Marciano and Nikolai Valuev) who build upon certain physical advantages to neutralize vulnerabilities caused by weaknesses in other athletic areas.
Barrett himself praised Ustinov’s footwork in a post-fight interview, stating, “he’s an in-and-out guy…you don’t see that much with big guys. He definitely has good basic foot movement.”
WEAKNESS: PONDEROUS UPPER-BODY MOVEMENT AND SLOW HANDS
Ustinov has exhibited ponderous upper-body movement, especially against Barrett, Maksym Pedyura, and Michael Sprott. Frequently, he lacks the balance necessary to exploit openings in his opponent’s guard. During punching exchanges, his head is often held straight up and unprotected. His punches are sometimes thrown wildly.
Punching speed and hand coordination seem to be a problem for Ustinov. Too often, Ustinov pushes his punches, rather than snapping them. Ustinov’s jab is a pawing blow, sometimes resembling a heavy, slow, battering ram. Ustinov’s right cross is almost always telegraphed, which causes his body to lurch when he misses. Other times Ustinov’s right is thrown as an arm punch, without his body weight behind the blow. Right uppercuts are almost entirely missing from Ustinov’s arsenal.
Ustinov has difficulty with boxers who use shifty head movement. Barrett’s frequent head and shoulder rolling maneuvers gave Ustinov fits. Generally unable to hit Barrett’s head, the frustrated Ustinov sometimes resorted to unorthodox tactics, such as extending his arms outward like probes in a desperate attempt to locate his target. Thus, it seems clear that Ustinov needs to fight a stationary target in order to be effective with his punches.
On the positive side, however, is that Ustinov has proven he can unload devastating combinations under the right circumstances. This usually happens if Ustinov’s foe is flatfooted, or if his foe tires and comes off his toes. It can also happen if Ustinov seriously hurts his opponent with any single powerful punch. Under these conditions, the hulking Ustinov can bury his opponents under an avalanche of heavy blows.
Ustinov’s devastating first round kayo of Julius Long is evidence of what he can accomplish if he is allowed to get his punches off. Noteworthy is that immediately prior to fighting Ustinov, Long had lasted the distance against hard-punching Odlanier Solis. Several months after the Ustinov kayo, Long finished on his feet against another strong puncher: Ray Austin. Thus, Ustinov’s opponents need to respect him in spite of his slow hand movement.
WEAKNESS: LEAKY DEFENSE
Despite skillfully using his size and foot movement to frustrate his opponents’ offensives, Ustinov does exhibit serious defensive flaws. Pedyura, for one, hit Ustinov frequently with long jabs and straight rights to the face. At these moments, Ustinov’s head was held straight up and his arms were dropped. Ustinov seemed to lack the defensive instincts to sense where these punches were coming from.
Interestingly, Barrett believes he would have performed better against Ustinov if he had been able to plant his feet often and lure the Russian into trading punches. Barrett claims that Ustinov was most hittable during these exchanges. Having broken his right hand in three places during the fourth round, however, Barrett was unable to make the most of these opportunities. “I couldn’t throw my left hook because it comes from behind my right hand, and my right hand was broken,” Barrett stated. “He’s an in-and-out guy, so I found him easier to hit when I had him standing right in front of me. But I couldn’t follow-up because of my broken hand.”
USTINOV’S FUTURE: STILL AN EMERGING PICTURE
For now, it’s best to withhold judgment about Ustinov’s potential against the world’s top heavyweights. Ustinov is still a developing fighter, so time and gym work are needed before a clearer picture of Ustinov’s true abilities emerges. A series of bouts against tough fringe contenders – heavyweights rated between 11th and 30th worldwide – will reveal if Ustinov is destined to become a champion, or even a legitimate contender.
Critics would be wise not to rush to judgment against Ustinov based on his apparent weaknesses. The example of Vitali Klitschko comes to mind here.
In the late 1990s, many critics dismissed Vitali Klitschko – who was still a prospect at the time – as an oversized, ponderous, and mechanical fighter who lacked the talent to succeed against world-class opposition. In fact, London bookmakers even listed Klitschko as a 40-1 underdog against Herbie Hide before their 1999 WBO heavyweight title fight. But Klitschko pulverized Hide, and then went on to establish himself as one of division’s most feared and dominant heavyweights over the next decade.
Noteworthy is that Klitschko neutralized his own weaknesses by developing a repertoire of unorthodox and devastatingly effective punches. Somewhat mechanical and lacking dazzling hand speed, Klitschko compensates by lobbing perfectly timed punches from many unusual angles, always making maximum use of his size advantage.
Who knows. Maybe Ustinov regards Klitschko as a role model.
In the Pedyura and Barrett fights, this writer noticed that Ustinov sometimes used unorthodox punches to compensate for his lack of hand speed. In both matches Ustinov occasionally scored with an unorthodox punch that looked like a hybrid left jab and left hook. In fact, against Barrett, much of Ustinov’s scoring involved the use of this unusual punch. This may be a hint that Ustinov’s trainers are in the process of teaching him more sophisticated tricks in the gym.
Perhaps Barrett put it best when he said of Ustinov after their fight, “he’s got a lot to learn, but he’s headed in the right direction.”