Usyk Becomes The Best P4P Fighter – ‘He’s The GOAT’
Oleksandr Usyk has become Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound number-one fighter in the world.
The Ukrainian became the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World with a split decision win over Tyson Fury. He followed in Lennox Lewis’ footsteps in becoming undisputed, which boxing fans had not seen for 25 years. The victory also made Usyk join Evander Holyfield as another undisputed man at cruiserweight and heavyweight. Usyk also joined Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue to have become two-weight undisputed champions in the four-belt era.
The manner of Usyk’s win was incredible. He weighed around 40 pounds lighter while having a seven-inch reach disadvantage. The pre-fight narrative was that Fury would overpower Usyk with size and weight. However, Fury failed to lean on Usyk in the cliches, with the Ukrainian managing to get out of them. It was also Usyk who nearly knocked out Fury. He buzzed Fury with a looping left in round nine as the Gypsy King bounced around the ropes. The fight would have been stopped if the referee had not given Fury a standing eight count. Now, Usyk has been rewarded for his efforts.
Bradley Reacts
“I put him at #1. What he was able to accomplish. it was a fantastic fight and a great performance. You had Tyson Fury, who had all the advantages and had the experience in the heavyweight department. He had the height and the reach, all the attributes he brings inside the ring, and Usyk was able to overcome all that,” Bradley said
Nevertheless, there was a suggestion that Usyk had been deprived of a historic moment of a knockout. The Ukrainian had Fury blacked up on the ropes. The Gypsy King was not returning fire with any punches, taking sustained punishment. But rather than letting Usyk finish the job, the referee administered the eight count.
Bellew Reacts
The result did not matter, as Usyk was declared the winner. However, the result could have been different. One judge scored it 114-113 for Fury, much to the shock of the boxing community. Had Fury won the last round, it could have created a draw. That would have resulted in mass outrage, given what happened in round nine. Tony Bellew was very critical of the referee.
“Without being too harsh, it should’ve been stopped in the ninth round. Well, [Usyk] should’ve been allowed to continue punching in the ninth round, that should have never been a count and the referee knows he made a mistake. In professional boxing, you don’t get a standing count unless you are about to hit the floor and the ropes keep you up. [Fury] was stumbling around. He stumbled four times previously to the fifth stumble. It was on the fifth stumble he jumped in. Oleksandr Usyk only needs two more punches there and it’s the end of the contest. That was stolen from him,” Bellew said
Full List
Oleksandr Usyk
Naoya Inoue
Terence Crawford
Canelo Alvarez
Artur Beterbiev
Dmitry Bivol
Errol Spence
Gervonta Davis
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez
Junto Nakatani
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