Oleksandr Usyk has taken on all challenges across two weight divisions culminating in 24 rounds with Tyson Fury, though he says ‘The Gypsy King’ didn’t give him his toughest fight.
Usyk has been in unstoppable form almost all of his boxing career. He won plenty of amateur accolades and ended with a gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012. As soon as he turned pro, he soon picked up momentum in the cruiserweight division and, by 2018, had beaten become the undisputed champion.
He then moved up to the top division and soon settled in with wins over Chaz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora before taking on the long-ruling unified champion Anthony Joshua.
READ: Daniel Dubois Reveals Who Hit Harder Between Oleksandr Usyk And Anthony Joshua
Usyk took a points victory then repeated the feat in the rematch. In August 2023 he took on his mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois and, after being down from a controversial low blow, he scored the stoppage win in the 9th round.
That set up an undisputed fight with the then-unbeaten Fury, who Usyk bettered on points after another tight 12 round contest.
Alongside Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue, that made him a historic two-weight undisputed champion. Last time out in December the Ukrainian southpaw again beat ‘The Gypsy King’ and sent him into retirement, for now at least.
However, he recently revealed to talkSPORT Boxing that it was in fact ‘Del Boy’ who gave him his hardest night.
“I think it is Derek. My friend Derek. Hey, Derek I am coming for you! Derek is a terrible guy, really tough. It’s just hard [fighting] Derek. He was just very difficult.”
Chisora’s 49th contest came earlier this month when he beat Otto Wallin by late KO. He is now looking for a 50th and final opponent later this year after a thrilling career with plenty of ups and downs. Though Usyk won their contest unanimously back in 2020, many have credited the Brit with laying the blueprint for the best way to get to the Ukrainian.
Usyk is now waiting around to once again challenge for undisputed honours against whoever wins the IBF title fight between Dubois and Joseph Parker. A callout from Chisora for a rematch in his 50th fight likely won’t come to anything.
