Oleksandr Usyk has arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of next Saturday’s massive fight with Tyson Fury, who touched down in Riyadh a few days ago. And Usyk is using the inspiration he gets from some of the greats of the sport to, well, to inspire him ahead of what he says is the biggest and most important fight of his entire career.
Usyk, talking with TNT Sports, spoke about heavyweight icons Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano, with the unbeaten Ukrainian letting it be known that he holds both in very, very high esteem.
Usyk also spoke briefly about what may come next for him after he has beaten Fury and unified all four major belts at heavyweight, this to be a historic win Usyk is certain he will achieve. Usyk said he might drop back down to the more natural, for him, division of cruiserweight.
“When I think about Muhammad Ali, it’s not just boxing,” Usyk said. “It’s the path he took, his nature. He fought for his rights, his nearest and dearest. This is an incredible feeling, having the opportunity to be here now and do what God allows me to do. All the historic champions; all these boxers have done a lot for boxing. Rocky Marciano was never defeated, he died undefeated.”
And it’s possible Usyk will retire unbeaten himself. For if – and, yes, it’s a big if in the opinion of some – Usyk can defeat Fury, there will be nothing else for him at heavyweight.
Usyk has said that once he wins the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world, his career will be complete. There is of course a strong possibility of Usyk and Fury fighting each other twice, but if this happens and if Usyk wins both encounters, what then for him?
“Maybe I will go back to cruiserweight and win,” Usyk said.
Usyk, we know has a dry sense of humour, and sometimes things he says and means can get lost in translation. But if Usyk did unify the four heavyweight titles and then dropped back down to cruiserweight and became champion there all over again (Usyk of course won all four belts at 200 pounds, the first man to ever do it), this would also be a first, with Usyk making yet more boxing history.
When you have giants like Ali and “The Rock” to look up to and to try and live up to, you have to think big. Usyk has shown he has no problems thinking very big.
Just days away, some notable people have changed their pick once again when it comes to who wins on May 18. A genuine 50-50 fight, Usyk-Fury made us wait, but the fight is here at long last.
