RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Oleksandr Usyk has vanquished all before him but there are signs of frustration that the quietly determined Ukrainian does not get the recognition he deserves.
Usyk, 37, ended debate about this generation’s top heavyweight when, deep into the night in Riyadh on Saturday, he saw off the previously unbeatable Tyson Fury for a second time.
Asked which of boxing’s heavyweight greats he could not have beaten, Usyk gave an understated but telling answer.
“Oleksandr Usyk,” he told reporters, before bowing karate-style and leaving.
There is no doubt that Usyk has earned his right to be mentioned alongside Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and the other legends on the list of undisputed heavyweights.
The 2012 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist, now 23-0 as a professional having been undisputed champion at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, has put together one of the all-time great careers.
According to Ring Magazine, the intelligent, gap-toothed fighter from Simferopol, Crimea, has “completed boxing.”
Perhaps it’s his shaky command of English, perhaps it’s his unfashionable origins, but Usyk’s camp feels he still flies under the radar.
“What else does Oleksandr need to prove? He’s the best,” asked his manager, Egis Klimas.
“Does he need to prove anything else?”
Usyk, who shares a birthday with Ali, compiled an imperious amateur career, including the European and world titles along with Olympic gold.
His professional debut came at a mature 26 but within 15 fights he had become the first man to unify all four cruiserweight belts.
He then repeated the trick after six bouts at heavyweight, beating Fury in May to end a 25-year wait for a unified champion in the top division.
Way past midnight on Saturday, he was too fast, fit and accurate for the 6ft 9ins (206cm), 281lb (127.4kg) Fury, winning the rematch by unanimous decision.
The fight was “easier than the first one,” said Usyk, who is running out of opponents and has teased a return to cruiserweight.
Usyk has beaten Anthony Joshua twice, and before facing Fury he knocked out Daniel Dubois, who challenged him to a rematch immediately after Saturday’s fight.
The heady accomplishments are a long way from Usyk’s start in boxing aged 15 when, already an accomplished street fighter, he realised it was cheaper than football.
“I decided to go into a boxing gym soon because you don’t need too expensive equipment for being a boxer,” Usyk told Ring Magazine a decade ago.