Oleksandr Usyk has faced an extensive list of elite opponents and has overcome every single one of them, but when it came to naming the hardest punching dance partners of his career, the Ukrainian surprisingly left out two names.
Usyk has become just the second fighter in history to become undisputed at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, picking up all four world titles in each division to match, if not better, the achievements of Evander Holyfield.
Up at heavyweight, Usyk has faced two men that can be considered as genuine knockout artists, twice beating both Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, halting the latter on both occasions and outpointing ‘AJ’ in each of their matchups.
Although, in an interview with Daily Mail Boxing, the unified heavyweight ruler left both Joshua and Dubois off of a list when quizzed to name the hardest punching opponents of his career. Instead, the 39-year-old humorously gave top spot to the horse that kicked him when he was a child.
“5. Murat Gassiev, 4. Mairis Briedis, 3. Tyson Fury, 2. Derek Chisora, 1. Horses.”
Usyk met Fury twice in 2024, winning both of those battles on points, while he defeated Chisora in just his second fight at heavyweight back in 2020, in a bout that he has referred to in the past as one of his toughest in the division to date.
The Ukrainian will return to action on Saturday, May 23, when he attempts to defend his WBC world title in an unorthodox meeting against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza.
