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Years were spent debating who would emerge as this generation’s greatest heavyweight. Tyson Fury? Anthony Joshua? Deontay Wilder? All of that, just for a cruiserweight to enter their territory, cock a leg, and relieve himself.
Oleksandr Usyk waltzed up to heavyweight and took the division’s undisputed titles – to end a 24-year wait for such a champion – by outthinking, outmanoeuvring and outboxing Fury and Joshua twice each.
With his first victory over Joshua, in 2021, Usyk took the Briton’s unified titles; with his second, in 2022, he retained them. This year, he secured two more decision wins over a Briton: Fury, this time, taking the “Gypsy King”’s WBC belt to become undisputed in May, before giving up the IBF title but retaining the remaining gold in Saturday’s rematch.
In between those bouts, there was a stoppage win over Daniel Dubois, who now holds the IBF strap, and before them, there were victories against Derek Chisora and Chazz Witherspoon. Time and again since 2019, the Ukrainian has shared the ring with much bigger men. On Saturday, Fury outweighed him by 55lb.
Yet, in a manner, Usyk has bullied these heavyweights, and in doing so he has established himself as the greatest heavyweight of this generation. Not so much a god among men, as a ruler among gods.
Add to this his prior achievements: undisputed status at cruiserweight, an Olympic gold medal, an unbeaten record. His legacy is a rare one: a perfect one. So, there is one clear move for the Ukrainian.
In an ideal world, Usyk would retire. He is 38 in January, and the sunset of his career is in view. No one would begrudge him for sailing into it, a soft smile replacing his usual, toothy grin. Get out, Oleksandr, while you can – as a champion, with a perfect record and an unblemished legacy.
The issue, of course, is this is no perfect world. It is a world in which Usyk’s homeland is still at war with Russia, a war into which Usyk stepped in 2022, aiding his countrymen.
Usyk may well feel he should stick around for another multi-million payday, earning significant money to help his country and his family, especially given his next fight could come against Dubois – a man he has already beaten. The fear, of course, is that even a fighter as great as Usyk (not that there have been many) could stick around for one fight too many, in a division where one punch can change your legacy, or your health.
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Dubois has improved since he gave Usyk a decent fight in 2022, is in fine form, and is almost a decade younger than the southpaw. Usyk would be the favourite in a rematch, if Dubois beats Joseph Parker in February, but it would be a stern test. Yet while Usyk has never had to deal with defeat, one assumes he would have a healthier relationship with it than his rivals – Joshua threw Usyk’s belts out the ring after their second fight; Fury argues he has beaten the “middleweight” twice. So, perhaps Usyk sees the reward of one last, eyewatering payday as more significant than the risk of defeat.
Still, he has nothing to prove. There are no names in the division that fans are clamouring to see Usyk fight – a rare situation in boxing. This idealist would like to see Usyk bow out on top.
Fury, on the other hand, does have something to prove, and there is a name that fans still clamour to see him fight. In that sense, the Briton’s next move is perhaps clearer than Usyk’s.
Fury vs Joshua has been a boomerang of a fight. At times, it has felt so close that it was essentially in fans’ grasp; at others, it has felt so far away that it might never return. But here it is, available again, and the best choice for each fighter.
No, it does not have the lustre it once had, when each boxer was in his prime, nor can it even crown the unequivocal best heavyweight in Britain; Dubois would have something to say about that. But it is a fight that must take place before either man retires, a fight that would still sell out Wembley Stadium in seconds. Greed has cost us this long-craved clash too many times.
Let’s look at Joshua’s immediate options. He could wait for the winner of Dubois vs Parker, eyeing revenge over Dubois – who devastated him in September – or a double over Parker, whom he outpointed in 2018. But Usyk would have priority in facing that victor, and these are dangerous opponents for “AJ” who would not bring the same upside as Fury.
And what of Fury himself? He could be paired with a high-ranked heavyweight – for example, the winner of Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel. But that would carry the same dynamic as for Joshua in the scenario above: lots of danger, little reward.
Joshua is 35, Fury is 36. It is now or never. These former world champions do not need titles anymore. They need each other.
