Oleksandr Usyk believes three fighters should be considered as the leading operators of his generation, spanning from around 2016 to present day.
The Ukrainian claimed his first world title just under a decade ago, dethroning Krzysztof Glowacki for the WBO cruiserweight strap before entering the pound-for-pound discussion in 2018.
During that year, Usyk cemented his cruiserweight greatness with victories over Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev, becoming the division’s undisputed king.
Then, around two years later, the masterful southpaw dethroned Anthony Joshua and eventually secured his undisputed triumph over Tyson Fury in 2024.
Having unified every major title across two divisions, Usyk is now rightfully considered the flagship cruiserweight and heavyweight of his generation.
In terms of the pound-for-pound debate, though, the 39-year-old has been gracious enough to put himself beneath Terence Crawford, Canelo Alvarez and Shakur Stevenson while speaking with FightHype.
Canelo was generally regarded as the sport’s top fighter in 2019, around a year after he won a majority decision against Gennady Golovkin in their middleweight rematch.
The Mexican then became the undisputed super-middleweight king, dethroning the likes of Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant, before losing to Dmitry Bivol in 2022.
After that it was Crawford, along with Usyk, who arguably became known as the top dog, especially following his undisputed victory over Errol Spence Jr in 2023.
As for Stevenson, it is perhaps harder to justify his place among this generation’s greatest fighters, despite him having already become a four-division world champion.
Still, the unbeaten 29-year-old is crafting a Hall of Fame career, while Crawford has stepped into retirement and Canelo appears close to doing so himself.
