EATS
O leksandr Usyk – the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, current unified Ring Magazine heavyweight champion and the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world – has come a long way in a short period of time. His journey began in 1987 on an auspicious note: He shares a birthday, January 17, with Muhammad Ali. Usyk grew up in the Crimean city of Simferopol, Ukraine, and initially played soccer, but he was drawn to boxing at 15. Usyk’s gifts quickly became apparent and he went on a blistering amateur journey, compiling a 335-15 record that culminated with a gold medal victory at the 2012 Olympics. After a six-bout stint with the World Series of Boxing league, Usyk turned professional in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in November 2013. The fleet-footed southpaw raced to 9-0 inside of three years against solid opposition, then faced WBO titleholder Krzysztof Głowacki in Poland. Despite being on his opponent’s home turf, Usyk showed his hallmark composure in thoroughly outboxing the defending champion to claim his first world title. A year later, Usyk entered the first round of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) cruiserweight tournament in Germany and faced local hero Marco Huck, who himself had once held the WBO belt and defended it an impressive 13 times. Usyk boxed circles around the German and stopped him in the 10th round. In the WBSS semifinal, Usyk again disappointed hometown fans in Riga, Latvia, when he edged past future Ring cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis in an epic clash, picking up the WBC title in the process. It was the toughest fight of Usyk’s career thus far. The “Road Warrior” theme for Usyk would continue in the WBSS final: He would face Russian IBF/WBA titleholder Murat Gassiev in Moscow. In the buildup to the fight, Usyk made good use of what would become his trademark phrase. When asked “How do
Do Oleksandr Usyk’s skills transcend eras, or would the current heavyweight champ be taken to school by the Hall of Famers from the past? By Anson Wainwright
Illustrations by KRONKAAArt
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