Oleksandr Usyk can rightly claim to have fought the very best men across the top two divisions of boxing.
The former Olympic gold medalist from Ukraine was just as successful in the pro ranks. Within six years of turning over he had cleaned up the cruiserweight division and became undisputed champion as well as winning the inaugural World Boxing Super Series.
He then moved up to heavyweight and, after bedding in with wins against Chad Witherspoon and Derek Chisora, he took on the then-unified world heavyweight ruler Anthony Joshua and beat him across 12 rounds in 2021 using his mastery of the ring, footwork, speed and boxing IQ.
He repeated the feat in the first defence of his titles in 2022, then saw off the challenge of Daniel Dubois with a stoppage victory that led him to a much-anticipated battle with Tyson Fury. That fight in May was the first undisputed bout in almost 25 years and saw Usyk come out as the points winner after a close-fought contest.
Speaking to Boxing King Media, Usyk was recently asked which has been the hardest fight of his career so far and he went with the towering ‘Gypsy King’ over Joshua, Dubois et al.
“Tyson Fury.”
Many fans will agree. Despite ‘AJ’ having more success in the second fight than the first, Fury has a case for having pushed Usyk as far as anyone, particularly in the middle rounds when he was landing plenty of thudding uppercuts. As Usyk does, he weathered the storm and came back stronger.
The elite southpaw will soon head into camp once more ahead of a rematch with Fury. It takes place in December and both men have vowed to be better than in the first fight, while Fury recently confirmed he will be keeping the same corner team despite much talk that it let him down during the first contest. -secondsout
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