Oleksandr Usyk Is Only a Couple of Wins Away from Greatness
Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is regarded as one of the best boxers active in the sport today. The unbeaten fighter holds the WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO titles in his division, and if he can add the WBC crown, he would become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000.
Usyk may only be two wins away from adding his name alongside some of the greatest boxers in history, including Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, and Joe Louis. He has a professional record of 20-0, with 13 of those victories coming via stoppage.
Usyk vs Fury
The most obvious next challenge for Usyk is to defeat Tyson Fury. Not only does Fury carry the last piece of the jigsaw he needs to unify the heavyweight titles, but the British boxer also has an impressive record himself.
Fury would rank as the biggest challenge since the Ukrainian moved to the heavyweight division. It is one of this year’s most anticipated boxing matchups. A deal has yet to be agreed upon between the two parties, but talks have taken place. Bookmakers like bet365 have already opened a betting market on the fight, with Usyk ranked as the underdog at +200 and Fury ranked as the -250 favorite.
The Gypsy King won his second world title with a victory over Deontay Wilder in 2020. He then followed that up with a second win over the American, while more recently, he defended his crown against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.
Should Usyk maintain his 100% record again Fury, he will want to defend those four belts at least once to add to his legacy. That may come through a rematch with the WBC champion if their first fight is close.
Usyk could also have fresh mandatory challengers as an undisputed champion, with the likes of Joe Joyce, Frank Sanchez, and Filip Hrgovic considered some of the hottest prospects for the future. If either of those three boxers could earn the opportunity to face him, they may be the last real challenge left for him in the sport.
Cruiserweight Success
A lot of Usyk’s success early in his career came in the cruiserweight division in boxing. He dominated the division before moving up in weight for fresher challenges. The 36-year-old won all 16 of his fights at the 200lb limit.
It took Usyk just 10 professional fights to win his first world title. He got the better of Polish fighter Krzysztof Glowacki to win the WBO cruiserweight title. Inside Gdansk, he was handed the result by unanimous decision following 12 rounds. In what was his maiden world title fight, he dominated the contest.
Comfortable title defenses came against Thabiso Mchunu and Michael Hunter before Usyk made a name for himself in the World Boxing Super Series tournament. That involved three fights against some of his biggest rivals in the division.
Usyk knocked out Marco Huck in the quarter-final of the tournament. In his semi-final clash with Mairis Briedis, he was handed a majority decision. He added the WBC cruiserweight crown to his WBO title with that success.
In the final against Murat Gassiev, not only was the World Boxing Super Series trophy on the line but so were all four belts in the division. It was regarded as the biggest cruiserweight clash since O’Neil Bell faced Jean Marc-Mormeck in 2006. Usyk showed his class in the final, as he was handed the victory by a wide margin on all three scorecards in Moscow, Russia.
Later that year, Usyk was involved in his last cruiserweight fight against Tony Bellew. He traveled to Manchester, England to face the British boxer in a big clash. He knocked out the former world champion in the eighth round in what was another clinical performance.
Wins Over Witherspoon and Chisora
When he moved up to the heavyweight division, some pundits doubted whether Usyk was big enough to have success at the weight, however, he soon showed that he could use his skills effectively against bigger opponents.
Usyk’s professional heavyweight debut came against Chazz Witherspoon in Illinois. The American retired in his corner following the seventh round. Up to that point, Usyk was landing a lot of punches and proving too dominant for his opponent.
The former undisputed cruiserweight champion then stepped up in class to face Chisora, a man who had been in the ring with Vitali Klitschko, Tyson Fury, David Haye, and Kubrat Pulev. There was a lot on the line for Usyk as victory would ensure he would become the number one challenger to Anthony Joshua. Chisora made it difficult for the Ukrainian, but it was the man who is nicknamed the Cat who prevailed 117-112, 115-11, 115-113 in London.
Like Evander Holyfield and Haye, two men who had been cruiserweight world champions and then won a world title in the heavyweight division, Usyk showed in those fights with Witherspoon and Chisora that he did not look out of place at the weight. As a result of those wins, his ranking in the pound-for-pound list in the sport also improved.
Two Victories Over Joshua
Usyk got his first shot at heavyweight titles when he faced Joshua for his WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO titles at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in September 2021. The defending champion was the favorite to prevail in that fight, but Usyk upset the odds and prevailed by a wide margin of points.
The challenger caught Joshua with ease throughout that fight, rocking him on occasions. The British man did well to see out the 12 rounds, but the judges scored the fight 117-112, 116-112, and 115-113 to Usyk to ensure the belts changed hands.
Joshua had won 24 of his 25 professional fights going into that contest, with his only defeat coming against Andy Ruiz Jr. It was a victory that sent out a message to the heavyweight division that Usyk had arrived and was ready to dominate.
As the champion going into the fight, Joshua included a rematch clause in the contract with Usyk and he opted to take up that option in 2022. The pair met again in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where on that occasion, it was Usyk who was the favorite to prevail.
Joshua produced a much better performance as he learned from some of the mistakes he had made in the pair’s previous meeting. Despite that, it was Usyk whose hand was raised again following the 12 rounds, this time by split decision. The scorecards read 116-112 and 115-113 in the champion’s favor, while one judge controversially scored it 115-113 to Joshua.
After the fight with Joshua, Usyk locked in the number one position in the pound-for-pound rankings in the sport. He sits there ahead of super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue and welterweight champion Terence Crawford respectively.
Recent Clashes (Or Lack Thereof…)
Usyk has not fought since that second fight with Joshua. With talks with Fury breaking down, he has been linked with fighting Daniel Dubois. The British boxer is the mandatory WBA challenger following victories over Trevor Bryan and Kevin Lerena.
The two-weight world champion will know he is close to achieving something special in his sport. If he can retain his focus and motivation, he may be able to cement his name alongside some of the greatest fighters to ever step foot into a boxing ring.
