Oleksandr Usyk is the Heavyweight No. 1

Oleksandr Usyk, the current unified heavyweight champion of three organizations and the current pound-for-pound No. 1, has once again proven that he is the No. 1 heavyweight boxer by winning his rematch against Tyson Fury.

In the four-belt heavyweight unification bout, Usyk faced Fury for the first time and put on a performance that nearly knocked out the physically larger Fury, demonstrating his ability to the world and becoming the first-ever undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.

Usyk has now secured two victories over Anthony Joshua, defeated Daniel Dubois by TKO, and ultimately achieved two victories over the likes of Tyson Fury.

Having defeated all the champion-level boxers in the heavyweight division and decisively winning his rematches, Usyk can undoubtedly be called the current No. 1 heavyweight boxer.

Furthermore, as Usyk has also unified all four belts in the cruiserweight division, he is a fighter who, like Crawford and Inoue, has achieved four-belt unification in two weight classes. Considering this, it might be fair to call Usyk the king of the boxing world at present.

Overcoming the Long Reach

Despite being slightly inferior in physique and power within the heavyweight division, he has used his superior technique to take the lead and has shown content that sets him apart even against formidable opponents.

That remained unchanged in this rematch against Fury.

Usyk struggled with Fury's long jab in the early rounds, but he gradually began to react to it, building up rounds where he earned points with his punch volume and combinations.

I felt that the key point in that was never to go on the defensive.

Throughout the match, Usyk continued to take effective actions against the long jab that can secure distance.

If you were to keep being hit by such a long jab, you would normally find yourself unable to step in, or you would be forced into a defensive position and pushed back.

However, if he were to stop or retreat there, Fury would quickly take control of the pace, so Usyk needed to step forward, get inside, and open up the flow of the fight.

Moreover, he had to create that situation not by blindly rushing forward, but by launching effective attacks.

This is extremely difficult, and it is likely not something that even champion-class boxers can do easily.

Usyk managed to pull off such a high-difficulty task by utilizing his inherent technical skills.

By parrying the jab and countering, or by diving in at the perfect moment to get inside Fury's reach and creating a distance that favored him, Usyk succeeded in creating attacking opportunities while breaking down Fury's distance.

By not retreating and defending, but instead stepping forward to create opportunities, I feel that Usyk overcame Fury's long reach and created situations that favored him at key moments.

Combinations and punch volume

Furthermore, Usyk frequently used combinations when launching attacks, showing effective offense by consistently throwing punches rather than ending with single shots.

I feel that these aspects also became shrewd points that led to him gaining a lead in a closely contested fight.

He builds lines of attack to create opportunities, and when he goes on the offensive, he throws plenty of punches to rack up damage and points.

I think this acted as a major factor in creating a difference, even in a match where it was difficult to establish a clear gap.

Technical ability that makes a difference

Usyk, who executes methods to overcome opponents by utilizing his technique despite being at a physical disadvantage, and who takes the lead from his opponents by carrying them out, can truly be said to possess world-class all-around ability.

Blessed with a good physique, Usyk is excellent in power, stamina, and speed, but he can sometimes be inferior in those categories among heavyweights.

However, as the results so far show, in terms of technical ability, he seems to have surpassed other boxers even in the heavyweight division.

As a result, Usyk ended up superior in overall ability even among heavyweights where he is at a physical disadvantage, making it possible for him to create the difference needed to outmaneuver other boxers.

With this victory, Usyk is now in a position where he lacks notable opponents in the heavyweight division, but if he were to reclaim the IBF belt he had to vacate due to scheduling conflicts from Dubois and unify the four organizations again, the fight I would like to see is against Artur Beterbiev, the undisputed light heavyweight champion.

If this were to happen, I think it would be extremely interesting as this fight would also become a historic clash that moves the history of boxing.

It is too long ago to be much of a reference, but for the record, Usyk fought Beterbiev in the final of the 2011 World Boxing Championships and won.

I feel that the composition of a clash between undefeated unified champions, pitting power against technique, is an intriguing matchup, so I hope that a fight between these two will happen at some point.