It perhaps should not come as a surprise that Oleksandr Usyk has been modest enough not to list himself when asked who he feels is the current best boxer in the world pound-for-pound. The ever-classy Usyk, who exemplifies the term champion, was asked after his grand arrival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,, to name his choice for the P-4-P best right now.
And Usyk – who is actually the pick for many people, for many publications/websites – was too, well, too modest to list himself. Usyk instead picked Terence Crawford, a fighter the immensely skilled Ukrainian southpaw says he has a lot of respect and admiration for.
“For me, pound-for-pound number one is Terence Crawford,” Usyk told Ade Oladipo of DAZN News. “I like this man; he’s a great fighter. For me, maybe I’m number 17.”
All joking aside, Usyk is absolutely in the top three or four at worst, along with Crawford and Naoya Inoue. One could maybe argue Canelo Alvarez, former undisputed cruiserweight champion and current unified heavyweight king Usyk, is right at the top of the mythical charts we all love to debate.
If Usyk can repeat his win over Tyson Fury on Saturday night, or if he can go one better and defeat Fury in a more commanding fashion, say by a KO or a stoppage, his place in the history books will be secure, while it’s likely plenty of fans will be moved to place him at the very top of the P-4-P pile. Usyk’s place in the history books with the greats is actually already secure, but a second win over Fury would certainly add to the 37-year-old’s credentials.
But can Usyk do it? Can he beat Fury a second time? It is to Usyk’s credit that he is taking the return fight, as we’ve seen over the years numerous fighters who, after pulling off a huge win, did not face the same guy again. Usyk is giving Fury a chance to get his revenge, something Fury never gave to Wladimir Klitschko, for example.
There is not much time left. Have you changed your mind about who will win and how on Saturday night?
