Oleksandr Usyk is appreciated almost unanimously amongst boxing fans for his remarkable career and elite skill, but there is one former cruiserweight world champion who believes the Ukrainian to be an ‘average southpaw’.
After claiming the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Usyk excelled as a cruiserweight in the professional ranks, becoming the first four-belt undisputed champion of the division by trumping the likes of Krzysztof Glowacki, Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev on away soil.
Usyk then defended the undisputed crown against Tony Bellew before moving up to heavyweight and sensationally replicating the feat by dethroning Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury – and also coming out on top in rematches against both men.
Now, as Usyk’s career reaches its final chapter, with a farewell fight currently being discussed, fans are beginning to reflect on his inspirational success.
The longest-reigning cruiserweight champion of all time, Johnny Nelson, seems less impressed, telling the Fight Your Corner podcast of his opinion that Usyk is and always has been an ‘average southpaw’.
“I have said, Oleksandr Usyk is an average southpaw. I’m not saying that he is an average fighter, but as a southpaw, his style was average. You get outstanding southpaws that make you think, ‘wow, you have got it’, Pernell Whittaker, people like ‘Naz’ [Hameed], outstanding southpaws who use that style to the best of their ability.
“I didn’t say that he was average, as a southpaw he was average. In regards to when he was fighting Tony, to this day I thought that he [Bellew] was doing really well, I thought that he was ahead on points.”
Usyk’s career finale is likely to be a bout with former WBC heavyweight ruler Deontay Wilder, who he has been keen to face in order to complete his hit-list of rival heavyweights in his generation.
