There is an argument that in terms of quality over quantity, Oleksandr Usyk has the best record in boxing right now.
Dec 18 2024
Over the course of just 22 fights, Usyk has packed in undisputed titles in two weight classes and racked up a string of huge wins, often on away soil. We run down the best of the lot.
Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the ‘four-belt era’ and the first since Lennox Lewis nearly 25 years earlier with his win in Riyadh. What made this performance most remarkable, however, is the way he came back from a torrid start to totally take over in the second half of the fight and nearly stop Fury in the ninth.
The 6ft 9in Gypsy King looked to be on his way to a straightforward win as he built up a healthy lead through the first seven, leading by three on two scorecards and two on the other. But Usyk regrouped down the stretch and eventually won on a split to claim all four belts.
After beating Chazz Witherspoon and Dereck Chisora since moving up to heavyweight, Usyk truly announced himself as an elite player in the division with this comfortable points victory over Anthony Joshua which earned him the WBA, IBF and WBO belts.
At the time, many thought that a big, strong, powerful heavyweight like Joshua would be a bridge too far for the smaller man from the Ukraine. But Usyk established an early lead and never even looked close to letting it slip outdoors at Tottenham winning 117-112, 115-113 and 116-112 in the eyes of the judges. He won their rematch 11 months later too.
Krzysztof Glowacki in Poland, Michael Hunter in America, Marco Huck in Germany and Mairis Breidis in Latvia. Usyk had done things the hard way in his quest for the undisputed cruiserweight title but the big punching Murat Gassiev, the undefeated WBA and IBF champion, in Moscow was very much the final boss.
But this was about as one-sided as a showdown between two unbeaten world champions can get as Usyk dominated throughout. One judge even scored it a 120-108 shutout in his favour while the others gave Gassiev just one round. Usyk would defend the undisputed crown just once, knocking out Tony Bellew in eight at the Manchester Arena, before he decided to make his move to heavyweight.
