Right now, no one can argue that Oleksandr Usyk isn’t the best heavyweight on the planet.
The Ukrainian southpaw has beaten every man he has faced in the banner division, including challenger Daniel Dubois, two-time world champion Anthony Joshua and the former Lineal and WBC king Tyson Fury, who was unbeaten until he stepped into the ring with Usyk.
That was back in May for the historic undisputed championship and the first ever heavyweight contest for all four major belts.
It saw Usyk come out on top despite being the naturally smaller man who just a few years before was also cleaning up at cruiserweight and becoming undisputed in that division.
He and Fury will once again share the ring in December for their contracted rematch, though only the Ring Magazine, Lineal, WBA, WBO and WBC titles will be on the line after the champion was forced to vacate the IBF for not fulfilling his mandatory duties.
Speaking to Mail Sport, Usyk was asked how the fight with Fury compared to all his others, including two battles against Joshua, and he had no doubt that it tops them all.
“First place [the hardest fight]. First in rating for difficulty, passion, emotion, first in everything.”
He was then asked how he felt about his mother telling him to retire after the fight.
“My mom tells me that after every fight, she is worried, this is a mum, she is worried, she cries, she is afraid, however there is a way to go. I love her incredibly, this is the closest person to me, I know how much suffering she went through when I was sick or had some problems, how she did not sleep, however I have a mission to complete, I cannot just leave it.” -secondsout
