Oleksandr Usyk versus a prime George Foreman is an intriguing fantasy fight, but Ricky Hatton thinks there would only be one winner.
Usyk has set new records in the sport of boxing after just 24 fights. The Ukrainian southpaw cleaned out the entire cruiserweight division to become undisputed champion back in 2018, just six years after coming out of the London 2012 Olympics with a gold medal.
After that, he moved up to heavyweight and quickly settled in with wins over Derek Chisora, and then two victories over each of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois. That superb run saw him become the undisputed heavyweight champion not once, but twice, which is not something anyone has ever achieved before in the modern era. He may now only have one or two fights left before walking away.
Foreman, meanwhile, was part of a golden generation of big men to fight in the seventies, and turned pr after also winning a gold medal in the Olympics. As a pro, he most famously battled with Muhammad Ali in “The Rumble in the Jungle” in 1974 having become world heavyweight champion in 1973 after stopping the then-unbeaten Joe Frazier.
In a round of winner-stays-on with Mail Sport Boxing, Hatton was quick to pick a winner between the two and named the current king, Oleksandr Usyk.
The fantasy fight would every much be a case of Usyk’s wit, ring IQ and slick footwork against the marauding power of Big George, who ended his career with 76 wins from 81 fights and became the oldest ever world heavyweight champion when he won the unified WBA, IBF, and lineal heavyweight championship titles by knocking out 26-year-old Michael Moorer when he was himself 45 years old.
