Anthony Joshua has high praise for ‘classy’ Oleksandr Usyk following their back-to-back fights.
‘AJ’ took a mandatory defence against the Ukrainian back in 2021, and was bamboozled by the smaller man’s boxing. It wasn’t a surprise to the many fans who hold Usyk at the very top of their pound-for-pound lists.
Joshua was asked his thoughts on his former opponent by DAZN, and had nothing but compliments to pay.
“The unified heavyweight champion. He’s done well for himself. Very talented fighter. If you look back at his amateur career, he won the world championships, won the Olympics, become undisputed cruiserweight champion, unified heavyweight champion.”
“I think he’s one of the best cruiserweights of all time, and he’s stamping his territory in the heavyweight division. Even though I hate losing, I wish him all the best, because he’s a classy champion.”
It’s reported that the Ukrainian has an amateur record of 335 wins to just 15 losses – and whilst these aren’t always accurate, it’s likely in the ball park.
He tore through a tough cruiserweight division, becoming undisputed champion after just 15 fights by outpointing Murat Gassiev.
Usyk went on to knockout Tony Bellew in his last contest at 200lb – and Bellew’s last in the sport entirely – before moving up to meet the heavies. He beet Chazz Witherspoon by seventh round stoppage, Derek Chisora by unanimous decision, and then outboxed Joshua to become unified champion of the world.
In the rematch, Usyk cemented that status. A true legacy-driven fighter, it’s unfortunate that his recent talks with Tyson Fury to make the heavyweight undisputed fight fell through.
‘The Cat’ has confirmed that he will serve his mandatories in order to keep hold of his belts, likely biding his time until an opportunity to win that fourth belt presents itself again. Perhaps no current fighter deserves it more.