No Ifs, Buts Or Maybes: Oleksandr Usyk Is Undeniably One Of Boxing’s Greatest
Deep in the bowels of Wembley Stadium, less than an hour after knocking out British heavyweight and IBF champion, Daniel Dubois to become the undisputed heavyweight champion for a second time, Oleksandr Usyk was asked by BBC Radio presenter Steve Bunce how it feels to know that he is “without doubt, one of the greatest fighters in history?”
“I’m not best of the best,” he replied.
“You are one of the best, ever…”
“No, no. I’m just Alex… Ukrainian guy.”
With a familiar smile on his face, Usyk walked away, uncomfortable with the idea of exalting himself too far above others. But the facts cannot be denied: Usyk won more than 300 fights as an amateur, winning Olympic, World and European gold medals. As a professional, he dominated the cruiserweight division, becoming the first four-belt era undisputed champion of the division, and now he’s done the same at heavyweight, twice.
Before his first fight in the sport’s marquee division in October 2019, his opponent Chazz Witherspoon said “Oleksandr is stepping up to heavyweight – and he’s going to find out that it’s a totally different game.” Eight fights later, Usyk has shown that it really doesn’t matter what game he’s playing: he has what it takes mentally and physically to dominate regardless.
For many, that marks him out not just as a generational great, but an all-time one. It places his name among that of legendary heavyweights such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. “He would be a great in any generation,” said promoter Frank Warren, after Usyk’s clinical fifth-round stoppage of Dubois.