Former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman has considered where Oleksandr Usyk sits in the “GOAT” conversation, among the likes of Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis.
Based on achievements alone, Usyk deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as any former heavyweight champion, given that he has cemented himself as the greatest of his generation.
Not only that, but the Ukrainian moved up from cruiserweight to become a two-division undisputed champion, defeating the most formidable fighters he could realistically face.
In particular, his two points victories over Tyson Fury in 2024 were significant enough to draw comparisons with all-time greats such as Lewis, who was the previous undisputed heavyweight king.
Many will argue, however, that Ali and Lewis both competed with tougher opponents, meaning they should be placed above Usyk on any ‘GOAT’ list.
For Ali, it were his fights with Joe Frazier and George Foreman that largely defined his career, while Lewis’ most significant win came against Evander Holyfield in 1999.
Even after having shared the ring with Lewis, though, Rahman has told FightHype that he still considers Usyk to be one of the all-time greats.
“[He] won the [Fury rematch] clean and went on to show why he’s one of the greatest heavyweight champions ever. I put him in the ‘greatest of all time’ category.
“Based on statistics, and what he’s done, I don’t see nobody who matches him. All I know is that Usyk won [an Olympic] gold medal, was the only one to unify four cruiserweight titles and then moved up to heavyweight and unified four heavyweight titles.
“That’s never been done [before]. He’s got to be in that ‘GOAT’ conversation.”
Rahman, who found himself on both sides of stoppages against Lewis in 2001, went on to highlight that, by dethroning Anthony Joshua, Usyk defeated his fellow Olympic champion.
