Oleksandr Usyk is fresh off back-to-back wins over Tyson Fury and is now widely considered to be one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters alive, but his toughest test came not at heavyweight, but in the cruiserweight division.
Oleksandr Usyk has cemented himself as a boxing great after his wins over Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois, and Tyson Fury in the heavyweight division, and wins over Tony Bellew, Murat Gassiev, and more in the cruiserweight division.
But his toughest test came not from ‘The Gypsy King’, nor from the controversy of Dubois’ attacks on Usyk’s body, low or not.
His toughest test came instead just three fights before he moved up in weight, when he took on an elite Latvian talent.
Oleksandr Usyk was a round away from a draw with Mairis Briedis
In 2018, Usyk’s final year in the cruiserweight division, and two fights before a referee saved Bellew’s life after Usyk stopped him, the Ukrainian faced Mairis Briedis.
The fight was a razor-close affair, with some suggesting Briedis had done enough to beat the pound-for-pound king.
It was ‘The Cat’ who got the nod, though, with a majority decision win. The scorecards read 114-114, 115-113, 115-113, meaning just one round would’ve been the difference between a win for Usyk and a draw.
Though Usyk has won by split decision to Fury once and AJ once, many consider his fight with Briedis to be the closest of his career.
Mairis Briedis gets tattoo to call out Jake Paul ahead of Jai Opetaia loss
Years after his loss to Usyk, Briedis opted to challenge Jake Paul for a big payday fight, and even went as far as to get a tattoo to call out the YouTuber.
The boxer was slammed for going to such great lengths to secure a fight with Paul, who many considered a joke in the sport at the time. Many still do.
Briedis never got the fight with Paul, who teased the Middle East as his next fight venue, and instead faced Jai Opetaia in 2022, losing his world title in a unanimous decision to the ferocious Aussie challenger.
The Latvian didn’t fight for another two years, and faced Opetaia, who has since called out Usyk, once more in 2024, losing again by unanimous decision. He retired after the fight.