Oleksandr Usyk is telling anyone who will listen he is poised to take the heavyweight division by storm, and it is going to be truly fascinating to see if he can conquer the kingpins of the sport over the next couple of years.
On Saturday night he faces Dereck Chisora at Wembley Arena, so now is as good a time as any to scratch beneath the surface and look at one of the most captivating characters in the sport today.
The Ukrainian southpaw has been flawless so far as a professional, streaking to 17-0 (13 inside distance) and unifying the cruiserweight division since joining the paid ranks in 2013.
Before that Usyk had claimed gold at the 2011 World Amateur Championships (as a heavyweight) and at the London 2012 Olympics.
Usyk: the man who has everything
What makes him truly great is just how well he blends offense with elusiveness. Usyk is that rarest of prizefighter who can dance around and bamboozle opponents when in the mood, but he is just as comfortable standing in the pocket and trading.
He also has the ability which only a handful of fighters possess - to be able to make you miss without necessarily throwing a lot of leather himself. This blended style of violence with science is the reason plenty of knowledgeable boxing aficionados fancy him to make a run to the heavyweight title.
Given the popularity of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, it is clear that proper adoration for the slippery southpaw is now also due. His boxing brain is unrivalled among the heavies and he has skills to burn. He is a fascinating, complex individual who exhibits charm and cheek in equal measure.
Charisma as well as class
While some previous eastern European greats have suffered from a PR point of view due to their limited command of the English language, Usyk has an almost mystical aura and a cult following which seems to be growing all the time.
His social media posts are consistently hilarious and he seamlessly switches from calling out opponents to entertaining fans with his latest dance moves in the gym. That gap-toothed smile and 1000-yard stare he fixes his opponents with all add to the appeal of a man convinced he is going to rule in the land of the giants.
We simply don't know yet if Usyk can truly hang in this division, but his body of work as a cruiser and before that as an amateur suggest he should be up to the job.
He is popular with hard-core fans because he dares to be great. There are no guarantees he will clean up at heavyweight, and if he does so it won’t be done by marauding through opponents the way Mike Tyson did in his all-too-brief 1980s pomp.
Usyk will need to use timing, speed, reflexes, footwork, psychology and ring generalship to plot a path to the richest prize in sport.
We know he has the cojones. Murat Gassiev, Maris Breidis and Krzysztof Glowacki were all vicious, hungry and unbeaten world champions. Despite this, Usyk conceded home advantage three times and came out victorious three times.
At his best he is a joy to watch. The jabs pump like fast-moving steel pistons. The footwork is flawless. The educated hooks and clever defensive gestures are subtler and more pragmatic than just about any current pro you could care to name.
He has already had a stellar career but Usyk is unwavering in his belief that he will crown it as heavyweight champion of the world and if he does - in this era - history will have no choice but to remember him as one of the true greats.
The biggest threats facing him are unquestionably the current heavyweight champions Fury (WBC, Ring magazine and lineal) and Joshua (IBF, WBA and WBO).
It would certainly help his quest to be undisputed champion if those two Brits boxed each other first, which would mean he potentially doesn’t have to beat both of them to unify.
The stars seem to be aligning for Fury v Joshua in 2021, but given the current landscape due to COVID-19, and the fact that any agreed fight between said duo would inevitably also include a rematch clause, can Usyk afford not to enforce his mandatory WBO status at the age of 33 and stay on the outside looking in for at least another year, possibly longer?
There is a school of thought that he would simply not be long enough or strong enough to be a true threat to these two behemoth heavyweights, but it would be fascinating to find out. The general consensus is he would have a better chance of beating AJ, whose boxing skill set is not quite as refined as Fury (or Usyk himself for that matter).
Will size matter for Usyk at heavy?
But while Joshua and Fury are tried and tested at the highest level, there are clear question marks surrounding Usyk at this weight. Does he take a solid body shot from a fully built heavyweight who will outweigh him by at least 30lbs? Or one who can land clean on his chin? Only time will tell.
Yet the size issue may be being overplayed. He came in at 215lbs for his heavyweight debut against Chazz Witherspoon, and while he is comparatively small by modern heavyweight standards, he’s hardly tiny.
By way of historical comparison Muhammad Ali only scaled 210lbs for his first fight with Sonny Liston, proving skill and ringcraft are often more important than sheer size when it comes to the sweet science.
History is also against Usyk. At time of writing Evander Holyfield is the only fighter who has ever been undisputed cruiserweight and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
There are clear similarities between the pair of course. Both claimed Olympic medals (Holyfield taking bronze in 1984 and Usyk capturing gold in 2012). Both cleaned out the cruiserweight division, with the American doing it in the three-belt era (WBC, WBA IBF) at 190lbs and Usyk claiming IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO titles at 200lbs.
Crucially, both men have also consistently shown a desire to challenge themselves against the elite, with Usyk famously taking his show on the road to win world title contests in unfamiliar surroundings.
When Holyfield entered the heavyweight fray in 1988 after unifying the cruiserweight belts against Carols De Leon, there was a deep scepticism among many experts that he would be able to compete against the likes of Mike Tyson, Tony Tucker and emerging forces such as Riddick Bowe.
The same is true of Usyk. He will be hit harder than he has ever been hit before in this division, mauled by rougher and heavier men. But as Holyfield proved, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
Chisora provides a proper test
It’s Chisora next for Usyk, and he goes off as a huge favourite (1-8 with Sky Bet) for their Wembley Arena clash (live on Sky Sports Box Office and DAZN in the United States).
As we’ve mentioned, Usyk’s footwork is unparalleled, so do not expect him to just walk Chisora down and have a war with the Londoner. He will look to dominate the fight with clever movement, superior hand speed and spearing jabs.
Chisora has had plenty of notice for the fight (they were slated to meet earlier this year) so should be in shape. He is a gnarled heavyweight veteran who always comes to fight, but at 36 his best years are now clearly behind him.
The fight will be interesting as we need to know what Usyk looks like against a proper heavyweight. Chisora is certainly that, but it’s also worth mentioning that he has lost every time he has stepped up against elite opposition (now 32-9 overall as a pro).
Usyk won’t present a target for Chisora to land his own bombs and it would be no surprise to see the Ukrainian to dish out a sustained beating and eventually claim a wide points victory. One can also see a scenario where Dereck’s corner throws in the towel and mercifully pulls him out after halfway once the gulf in class is exposed.
Due to its ferocity and sheer brutality, boxing will always have its detractors. But as long as there are men of rare skill, heart and substance like Ali, Holyfield and now Usyk, the sport will continue to flourish.
