We've been saying this all week and ever since the bout was announced: If Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury and is recognized as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, he'll go beyond surefire Hall of Fame status (he's already in the Hall of Fame, after all) and join the ranks of the greatest boxers of all time.
The statement came with the usual implicit warning: If Usyk were to sneak in a questionable decision or beat a clearly deteriorating Fury, there would be a re-evaluation after the dust had settled. You know the warning. Fury was robbed. … Fury would have beaten Usyk in 2020. … Usyk wiped out a fearsome group of heavyweights.
Not only did Usyk win a dramatic split decision, he did it against a very good Tyson Fury. Since his 2020 thumping of Deontay Wilder, Fury has never looked as sharp as he did in rounds four through six against Usyk. Last weekend's successful period may have been even more impressive because the Ukrainian is far more skilled (but less powerful) than Wilder. Fury landed hard jabs to Usyk's face and timed right uppercuts to overwhelm the former unbeaten cruiserweight champion in a way that no one had ever done before.
But Usyk, whose track record of in-fight comebacks is now as exemplary as it is legendary, pulled off the greatest Houdini trick ever: He broke Fury's nose in the eighth round, nearly stopped “The Gypsy King” with a ferocious attack in the ninth, and looked to have won the tenth and eleventh rounds. He timed his ferocious lunges to perfection; had he waited one more round to pounce on Fury, Usyk might have been hopelessly outmatched.
After a boxer wins against a much bigger opponent, like Usyk's win over Fury, it's common for boxing fans and media to say, “size doesn't matter, it's skill.” They're half right. Only with the greatest boxers does size stop mattering. For fighters who aren't at that level, size absolutely The point is, why Manny Pacquiao was able to climb eight weight classes, but no one in their right mind would recommend the same path to a flyweight today: Usyk beat Fury and went on a winning streak against much bigger fighters not because size isn't inherently important, but because Usyk is special. make it doesn't matter.
Usyk deserves all the credit for this win, which may be the cinematic pinnacle of his professional career. As always in boxing, the question is what happens next. But with this win, Usyk has put a bright and definitive record on his record. Short of winning the rematch, it's hard to imagine what else the 37-year-old can accomplish.
Usyk is the rare boxer who has done almost everything that fans of this strange sport want from a fighter. Not only has he consistently demanded tough fights, Mercilessly. (“Don't be scared, Tyson. I'm not going to leave you alone” applies to Usyk's pursuit of the Fury fight and the bout itself.) Even a relatively mild fight, like Chazz Witherspoon, was declared a stepping stone on the road to Usyk's toughest fights, and he was happy to accept a role as B-side in fights with Fury and Anthony Joshua. Challenging himself remained his number one priority through it all.
Usyk has never given any opportunity to micromanage his record. He has never lost as a professional and has won big fights, often from the away corner. None of his decision wins have been controversial. Despite his split decision wins in the rematch with AJ and Saturday's win over Fury, plus a majority decision win over Mairis Briedis in 2018, all three results were widely considered correct. Those who felt Daniel Dubois' punch to Usyk's stomach last August was legitimate may be outraged, but Usyk's subsequent stoppage of Dubois (and winning nearly every round up to that point) should erase much of that feeling. It has become almost impossible to ask Usyk for more.
In this respect, Usyk may be in a league of his own among the top fighters currently in action. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is more famous, has had a longer career and is naturally known for accepting challenges. Lately, he's settled into a pattern of taking easier fights instead of fighting David Benavidez. Usyk is three and a half years younger than Canelo. He may not have the star power of Canelo, but he doesn't have the celebrity drawbacks that Canelo can compensate for. He has never shied away from opponents until they showed signs of decline, or sidestepped potential rivals because they were too big.
Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue may be better overall fighters than Usyk, and it's fair to place them above him on the pound-for-pound list. Usyk has received plenty of accolades, but he's rarely been so dominant in the biggest fights. Usyk has struggled and had to work hard, which Crawford and Inoue rarely have.
But while Inoue and Crawford have each had their own weight-jumping heroics, Usyk's victory over Fury, despite being outnumbered by seven inches in reach, six inches in height, and over 40 pounds, is a David-over-Goliath feat that is unparalleled. Crawford will soon be fighting in his fourth weight class, and Inoue just fought in his fourth (jumping over 112 pounds), so both fighters would have to somehow jump several more weight classes to make a physically impossible matchup like Usyk vs. Fury. Of course, it's different for smaller fighters; if you express the weight jumps as a percentage of total weight, the feats become comparable. But Usyk's feat is still unparalleled.
Outside of a rematch with Fury, Usyk doesn't really have a fight that piques the boxing world's curiosity. After what he's just done, does anyone really think Filip Hrgovic or Jared “Big Baby” Anderson can beat him unless he suddenly and significantly declines? Joshua may be in top form, but he's challenged Usyk twice and lost both times without debate (the card in which Joshua won the rematch, 115-113 for Glenn Feldman, was widely panned). Usyk has crafted a story with a perfect ending and there should be no more doubt about the main character.
Again, this doesn't apply to the current top fighters — Crawford and Inoue's limits are still unbroken, and audiences would welcome any challenger who can unlock the potential of these pound-for-pounders. (To continue the story metaphor, it feels like neither career has reached its peak yet, and neither protagonist has yet to meet an opponent, even considering Inoue's off-the-deck win over Nery.)
Alvarez sealed his Hall of Fame resume before he even turned 30, but Canelo vs. David Benavidez remains an intriguing fight, and Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev could shake up the pound-for-pound standings again, but that fight hasn't happened yet, and until it does, the limits of either boxer are unclear.
Usyk has taken his accomplishments to a new level. If any of the aforementioned fighters were to retire now, boxing fans would wonder, unfairly or not, what more they could have done. If Usyk were to retire now, there would be few complaints. He is the best heavyweight of all time, even if he has a small track record. His win over Fury may be the most impressive of any active boxer, given the large size disparity and the strong performance of the loser. Usyk has found a way to fully maximize his potential.
No, Usyk isn't as well-known as Canelo, as polarizing as Fury and not as explosive or dominant as Crawford or Inoue, but he checks all the boxes on the career list we look for in a fighter.
Boxing, as a sport, likes to squander momentum, so he will likely never make the most of this opportunity. But it's time to put Oleksandr Usyk in his prime. Who knows how much longer he can go on. He's 37 years old and has never prioritized anything other than the pursuit of greatness. Now he's achieved that goal, and all we can do is celebrate him.
