Oleksandr Usyk has very much proven himself to be the best heavyweight on the planet right now.
For many, the Ukrainian is also one of the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighters given what he has achieved.
His success began with a gold medal in the Olympic Games in London 2012, and within six years of that, he was crowned undisputed cruiserweight champion.
A further six years on in 2024, he cleared out all the belts at heavyweight and also added the Ring Magazine and Lineal titles to his honours list when he beat Tyson Fury back in May.
The same pair are set to do battle once more in a rematch in December out in Saudi Arabia, with many people picking the technical southpaw to take the victory once more.
Beyond that, it is difficult to see who might challenge a man who has proven his mental toughness as well as physical fortitude many times over and has not yet been put down in the professional ring with a legal blow.
Speaking on Club Bellew, one of Usyk’s former victims Tony Bellew was concerned about comments Usyk made at a press conference following his win over Fury but still believes the only man who can beat him is Usyk himself.
“Was it not alarm bells ringing when he said how hard camp was and they said who beats Oleksandr Usyk, and it’s mad cause he’s repeating the words I’m saying, but he said the only person beats who beats him is him.”
In response, podcast guest Eddie Hearn suggested the renewed Anthony Joshua might pose a different threat should they fight for a third time, despite losing two fights with him already.
“Maybe this AJ is a more dangerous threat. I don’t know, you have to give him credit, but it will be interesting to see what his next move is.”
Usyk himself has suggested he might go back down the cruiserweight after the Fury rematcch.
