OLEKSANDR THE GREAT
so deftly, and then so brutally, with the efficiency of a quiet assassin. The great man and fighter rests now on a lofty perch in any permutation of discussions alongside the great boxers of yore. Certainly at heavyweight; potentially in any weight division. Usyk gets better and harder to beat the second time around, it seems. That fighting IQ of his is so special. It also speaks to the warrior life he leads, drawing inspiration from historical Cossack traditions and the more immediate motivation of representing his people while Ukraine is at war with Russia. And, given his faith and beliefs, walking in the spirit with God on his side. There are so many questions surrounding Usyk now. What more is there to prove? What are the attributes that it will take for any rival to defeat him? What are his weaknesses, if any? How long will the two-weight world champion wish to test himself? And are we watching the evolution of one of the greatest fighters ever to grace the ring? Bigger, heavier, stronger … even younger is certainly not working. Not for now, at any rate. They have said his Achilles’ heel is a vulnerability to body punches, and yet protecting his midriff
era, of watching Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s fast-twitch fibers on full physical alert as he sensed danger. That perhaps best describes a perception of Usyk on the night against Dubois at Wembley. But let us go back a little, over Usyk’s heavyweight career, after he had mastered the cruiserweight class. The fight with Derek Chisora is cited as the style with which to attack Usyk. Bustling, boisterous, indefatigable. Inarguably, then, “Del Boy” Chisora enjoyed successes. Yet it was five years ago, and Usyk was feeling his way as a heavyweight, the home fighter having a 38-pound weight advantage at Wembley Arena on the Eddie Hearn-promoted Matchroom Boxing event. Chisora bullied his way onto the wrong side of a unanimous decision that night: 115-113 twice and 117-112 on the cards. I concurred with the last score – from British referee and judge Bob Williams. Look further, and Usyk carefully dismantled Anthony Joshua in their first contest. He found angles from the start, bamboozling Joshua throughout, the Londoner’s muscularity no match for the skills of the victor. The second fight was closer for the first two-thirds, and yet the master boxer emerged in
the final three rounds, leaving Joshua petulantly snatching and throwing the belts out of the ring in Jeddah, frustrated at himself, yet tacitly admitting to the greatness of the boxer who had outdone him again. Through skills. Through holding his nerve until the end, knowing instinctively how to fillet his way through the championship rounds. Then to the two fights with Tyson Fury in 2024, when Usyk became the undisputed champion and the clear leader and contender from this heavyweight era, which spans the decade since Fury took the mantle from Wladimir Klitschko. The context of Usyk-Fury 1 and 2 should be recorded, moreover, given that this was the sport’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis a quarter of a century earlier. It also came amid a seismic change in the sport underwritten by investment from Saudi Arabia, Riyadh Season and at the behest of influential move-maker Turki Alalshikh. The first contest between Usyk and Fury was a titanic battle, the second more a fistic, physical chess match of wit and will. Usyk came out on top in the first see- sawing encounter by dint of his ninth- round attack on Fury, a 10-8 round, and
has now become part of his art. They said Dubois was improved, more dangerous. Yet it was Usyk who was improved. He walked his opponent down; smothered the space; took the center of the ring, owned it; moved like a ninja from the corner ropes, trapped only once early in the fight. Such improvements have been there, moreover, in every fight. Usyk’s concern early in a fight reminds me of that feeling, in the last
(Right) Volunteer medics on Ukraine ’ s frontline watch as Usyk battles Dubois.
56 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
RINGMAGAZINE.COM 57
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker