It seems like yesterday when Oleksandr Usyk claimed that he intended to match two great achievements of Evander Holyfield, who to this day remains the only fighter to have been undisputed champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
Usyk had just defeated Murat Gassiev in the final of the World Boxing Super Series (2018) and thus reunited all four belts in a division – cruiser – that usually goes too unnoticed.
Since then, ‘The Cat’ got down to work to adapt to the fight against larger opponents, without giving up his essence, his technical and agile boxing that makes him a different and entertaining heavyweight to watch, even if he does not pursue the KO.
But this Saturday finally comes the moment to embrace his dream, although to do so he will have to beat Tyson Fury, a giant fighter, with long arms, intelligent and with great mobility for his size. If the ‘Gypsy King’ has managed to improve his physical condition, the show will be unparalleled.
The winner will be the winner of the four championship belts, that is to say, those awarded by the four main boxing bodies: World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Organization (WBO) and International Boxing Federation (IBF).
And it is worth noting that never before in the era of the four belts, they had all been at stake in the same heavyweight bout.
If Usyk were to beat Fury, his ‘undisputed’ would be slightly different from the ones Holyfield won, since ‘The Real Deal’ was absolute champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight when there were only three recognized bodies in professional boxing.
It should also be noted that the last undisputed king at heavyweight was Lennox Lewis, back in 1999, after defeating Holyfield in his second fight.
Credit: marca.com
