Where Oleksandr Usyk now ranks among the greatest heavyweights of all time
Oleksandr Usyk’s second victory over Tyson Fury has elevated him into the position of the No 1 heavyweight of this era, but also into the pantheon of the greats in the blue riband division. But where does Usyk rank in the all-time list?
10. Vitali Klitschko
World champion in periods between 1999 and 2013
Klitschko held the World Boxing Organization title from 1999 to 2000, the Ring magazine title from 2004 to 2005, and the World Boxing Council title twice between 2004 and 2013. In a career spanning 16 years he amassed a record of 45 wins and two defeats, with 41 knockouts. The Ukrainian, with an ironclad jaw and great power, was a dominant force in the division. He came undone against Lennox Lewis in a fight he had been winning until a cut on the cheek. He made 12 defences of the heavyweight title – and we are picking him over brother Wladimir, despite his own 11-year reign.
9. Rocky Marciano
World champion 1952 to 1956
Rocco Francis Marchegiano held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and is unique as the only heavyweight champion to finish his career undefeated. It was a staggering 49-0 record, with 43 of his victories coming by knockout, including triumphs over Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore. Marciano was, similarly to Mike Tyson, one of the most feared heavyweights of all time for his vicious attacks and power.
8. Evander Holyfield
WBC, WBA, IBF titles between October 1990 and November 1992
‘The Real Deal’ was exactly that. My belief is that although Evander defeated Mike Tyson in the late 1990s, he would not have beaten Tyson in his pomp in the late 1980s. But Holyfield was durable, brilliant, technical, tough, and had a phenomenal engine and very good chin. He possessed an ideal blend of skills for a heavyweight. Holyfield also did what Usyk has done, being undisputed champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, his reign including victories over an old George Foreman, and an ageing Larry Holmes.
7. Oleksandr Usyk
Holds WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF May 2024 to current
Usyk became the 26th boxer to become an undisputed champion, by dint of a brilliant performance against Tyson Fury in May 2024 in which he turned the fight around in the ninth round with a torrid assault on his rival, almost knocking him out. A split decision victory (115-112, 114-113, 113-114) gave the Ukrainian all the belts, adding the WBC title to the IBF, WBA and WBO belts he took from Anthony Joshua.
Usyk showed great obduracy under great pressure from Fury at the midway point in that fight. He repeated the feat against a better version of Fury in December 2024, outboxing his rival in a physical chess match. Brilliant footwork, pressure, and fighting IQ took Usyk to a unanimous decision 116-112 on all the judges’ cards. In winning, he became even more of a folkloric figure in his home country.
6. Mike Tyson
WBC, WBA, IBF – August 1987 to February 1990
At 20 years old, he was the youngest heavyweight champion in history, and he really was the Baddest Man On The Planet in the late 1980s. Tyson is the world’s most famous living boxer, and in a colourful and controversial early life, wiped out all his contenders at world level from 1986 onwards with his swarming, fast, muscular style, all speed and arcing punches. He dominated until 1990. He was the first heavyweight to hold WBC, WBA and IBF titles simultaneously. His reign came to an end in a shock defeat to 42-1 outsider Buster Douglas in Tokyo in 1990. But on his top form, his pressure was too much for even the top contenders.
5. Larry Holmes
World heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985.
Holmes’ fast, long, stabbing jab is rated as one of the greatest ever seen in the sport. As a long time sparring partner of Muhammad Ali, he honed his craft in a golden era of heavyweights. His era ended with the emergence of a 20 year old Mike Tyson.
4. George Foreman
WBC, WBA – January 1973 to October 1974
Big George hit like a cannon, ripped Joe Frazier apart, and went undefeated until he met Muhammad Ali in Kinshasa in 1974.
Frighteningly powerful, he was undefeated in 40 fights until then, all but three of those contests by stoppage. Remarkably, Foreman came back after ten years retired to become the oldest heavyweight champ in history, aged 46. Another Olympic gold medallist, winning in 1968 in Mexico.
3. Joe Louis
World heavyweight champion from 1937 until 1949
The ‘Brown Bomber’ was victorious in 25 consecutive title defences and also several captivating and global fights of the time, against the greatest of his era. They included Max Baer, Max Schmeling, James J Braddock and Jersey Joe Walcott. An African-American hero for all of the United States, with his two contests with German fighter Schmeling added to his popularity leading into the Second World War.
2. Muhammad Ali
WBC, WBA – October 1974 to February 1978
They called Ali ‘the Greatest’. He called himself ‘the Greatest’. The brilliant fighter, showman, and activist is certainly the most important boxer of the modern era – both for his impact on society and the widely watched fights he was involved in. Muhammad Ali’s victory over Joe Frazier in Manila in 1975 ranks as one of the finest in boxing history.
The Fight of the Century in 1971, the Thrilla in Manila in 1975 and the Rumble In The Jungle the previous year against George Foreman are three of the most talked about boxing events of all time. Ali combined skills, movement and pure entertainment and was also an Olympic gold medallist at the Rome games in 1960. But he is not at No 1.
1. Lennox Lewis
WBC, WBA, IBF – November 1999 to April 2000
Lewis was the last undisputed heavyweight world champion reigning for 25 years until Fury-Usyk. Lewis avenged both his losses, won Olympic gold with his powerful ramrod jab, a huge right hand and presence in the ring. There is a strong argument to make him the greatest of them all in the modern era.
Lewis never fought Riddick Bowe in the professional ranks, but had beaten Bowe in the Olympics. Defeated all-comers otherwise, including Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, and Vitali Klitschko.
