Former WBC cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew has named who he thinks is the greatest fighter to have ever fought at 200lb.
The cruiserweight division was introduced by the World Boxing Council in 1979, with Marvil Camel and Mate Parlov being the first to compete for the title. However, when they fought one another for the vacant belt, the result was a draw.
Three months later, Camel and Parlov rematched and it was Camel who made history, as the Montana southpaw became boxing’s first recognised cruiserweight world champion with a unanimous decision win.
Since then, a plethora of boxing legends have followed in Camel’s footsteps to reign in the division, including Bellew, but there have been only three that have held belts at both cruiserweight and heavyweight; Evander Holyfield, David Haye and Oleksandr Usyk.
On The Matchroom Boxing Podcast, Bellew, who got his hands on the prestigious WBC crown back in 2016, labelled Usyk as the greatest fighter to have competed at cruiserweight, having lost out to the Ukrainian in the final contest of his career.
“That kid’s the greatest cruiserweight that’s ever lived.
“There’s not a cruiserweight that would beat Oleksandr Usyk in the history of the sport, I don’t care who you are.
“Evander Holyfield, he would have figured him out and he wouldn’t have caught him.”
Alongside Holyfield, Usyk is the second boxer to have become the undisputed champion at both heavyweight and cruiserweight, but the undefeated 39-year-old vacated the WBO world title in November.
Now, Usyk is expected to compete at heavyweight for two more years, with either Deontay Wilder or Andy Ruiz Jr. likely to be his summer opponent for 2026.
