Underrated amateur:- The fact that he has a record of 335 wins and 15 loses, shows how good and dominant he was during his amateur days. Also some of the names he beat during his amateur days like Beterbiev, the current boogeyman of light heavyweight twice, and Joe Joyce who right now is undefeated and is the toughest fight for anyone in the heavyweight division. Fury acknowledges Joyce as the toughest man in boxing that’s a compliment of the highest nature in itself. Despite that Usyk’s amateur career is not highlighted or praised in a way maybe Ali’s or Sugar Ray Leonard or even De La Hoya’s amateur career is. He has gold at the 2012 Olympics and 2011 World Championship and has 335 wins, most of the amateurs don’t even have 300-plus fights let alone 300-plus wins. I checked a lot of top 15, and 20 lists of great amateurs of all time and no one had Usyk in their list nor in their honourable mentions which shows how under appreciated he is as an amateur.
Unique accomplishments:- Since the inception of the 4 belt era, there have been only 9 fighters who have been undisputed to date in their respective weight class with Usyk being one of them which itself is history-making. However, there has never been a fighter in history who has been undisputed at 2 different weight classes in a 4 belt era. Well, Usyk is just a belt away from achieving that feat which would be history if he beats Fury to become an undisputed heavyweight with the undisputed cruiserweight feat already in his bag. In a 3 belt era, this unique milestone was achieved only by “The great Evander Holyfield”. There would be similarities as well if Usyk achieves this feat since this feat would then be achieved by both fighters in the same weight classes. Not only this feat then triggers the debate about where would you place Usyk in all-time great list if he beats Fury but It would also trigger a debate on who would you pick between Usyk and Holyfield which in itself would be a massive accomplishment for Usyk considering his name being mentioned alongside Holyfield.
Boxing masterclass:- I know many fans and pundits across the world would pick his performance against Joshua either the 1st or 2nd one as his best because of what was at stake and Usyk moving up in weight class and challenging the champ and beating him comfortably twice, but it was not a complete shutout performance from Usyk, the extra weight bothered his mobility in my opinion. So which one do I think was his best performance to date? I would have to go with the Gassiev performance. It was a boxing master class from Usyk that night. I would recommend this fight to all those who feel if not for KO boxing is boring to watch. Usyk’s style is beautiful to watch. With constant movement, the intention was clear from Usyk that night to outbox Gassiev and he perfectly executed that. Gassiev is a very good fighter who has a heavy hand which could not only put any cruiserweight but heavyweights to sleep. The fact that he was made to look ordinary that night is a testament to the greatness of Usyk as a fighter. It was a complete shutout performance from Usyk, the way he moved in that fight, the speed, movement with his footwork, blurring hand speed and throwing jabs to disrupt and frustrate Gassiev’s rhythm which eventually did frustrate Gassiev who looked like he had given up by 7th-8th round with his face telling a story I can’t do anything against such a highly skilled fighter and he was a spectator for remaining rounds. Rarely do you see such a highly skilled fighter at cruiserweight or heavyweight? The fact that he threw 939 punches in total in that fight is unheard of for a cruiserweight and in the final round of the fight he threw 117 punches which shows his unreal conditioning and stamina. You won’t find a better one-sided performance than Usyk in an undisputed matchup in recent times. Usyk was exceptional that night.
Chasing greatness:- It’s evident in the modern day where fighters are choosing money over legacy. Usyk is an exception to this, cares about legacy. First, he turned pro a little late in his career, second, he knew he needs a lot of catching up to do to build a legacy to establish himself as an all-time great. So immediately started running after the best guys in the division. Did that with guys like Glowacki, Briedis, Gassiev and Hunter in cruiserweight. Jumped to heavyweight and immediately started calling the number 1 guy out in the division at that time. The fact that he made it look so easy against Joshua twice goes to show how good Usyk is. If not for Joshua who is the best heavyweight around. That guy is Tyson Fury and now Usyk is after Fury which is close to being announced. Usyk is not playing around when it comes to choosing his opponents. Perhaps many active champions should take inspiration from Usyk in choosing their opponents.
This is how special Usyk is, When Klitschko was getting ready to face Fury, he asked for fighters with slick style and that’s how Usyk faced Klitschko. The rumour has it, Klitschko forced Usyk out of his gym after just 1 round because he was making Klitschko look silly in front of the press. The fact that Usyk had just turned pro and wasn’t even a heavyweight back then and still made the then lineal and heavyweight champ look silly goes to show the greatness of Usyk.
Mind games:- Usyk is the funniest character in boxing. Yes, I have said it. From his press conferences to his interviews, the guy always makes you laugh and the fact that he doesn’t even speak English and still makes you laugh is even more impressive. he finds unique ways to get in his opponent’s head, watch the build-up to the Bellew fight, he was nonstop funny in his press conferences and interviews. he didn’t let Bellew have even a moment in that buildup. Did the same antics with Chisora’s fight. In the 1st Joshua fight, the guy came in dressed like a joker in Press Conference, the way he photo bombs post-fight. The way he has been trolling Fury lately on social media, he is doing a Fury on Fury. The press loves him. But don’t get fooled by all this activity and antics, as soon as he steps in the ring, the guy turns into John Wick, and that’s why he is so special. He is a unique character.
Kobe once said this about Steph Curry “There is a sense of calmness about him which is extremely deadly“. The same I feel about Usyk, he has a sense of calmness which can get you fooled outside the ring but as soon as he steps in the ring, good luck beating that.
Let's Talk Boxing 
Leave a comment