Following his second consecutive victory over Tyson Fury, undefeated superstar Oleksandr Usyk is undeniably the best heavyweight boxer of his era – but what about of all eras?
From Buster Douglas and Lennox Lewis to George Foreman and Mike Tyson, it’s safe to say that American boxing legend Evander Holyfield has witnessed his fair share of heavyweight icons come and go.
But with the division now bowing down in unison to the Ukrainian ‘Cat’, where does Holyfield rank Oleksandr Usyk amongst the greatest heavyweight boxers in history?
Evander Holyfield ranks Oleksandr Usyk on heavyweight GOAT list
Oleksandr Usyk and Evander Holyfield represent the only two fighters in boxing history to have claimed all the available titles at both cruiserweight and heavyweight.
Following the Ukrainian’s sensational decision win over Tyson Fury in December, Holyfield would send a heartfelt message to the current undefeated heavyweight champion.
“Usyk, you’ve done it again, from cruiserweight to heavyweight [and] to beat the heavyweight guy a second time, great job, man.”
Yet speaking with Fight Hub TV, Holyfield was asked what the major difference was between Usyk and Tyson Fury, as well as where he’d rank the Ukrainian amongst the all-time greats.
“Tyson and Usyk; these are two good fighters but what you need to know about Usyk is that he’s always going to be in shape, and he’d rather die than lose – he’s always going to give it all, which was the big difference [in the rematch].
“Usyk has definitely got to be one of the top three [best of all time]. Because he’s always in shape, he doesn’t make no excuses, and he works hard – that’s what life is all about and this is what you try and tell the [next generation of] fighters.”
Holyfield argued that winning is one thing, but winning consistently when you’re giving up 10-20lbs to your opponent is what sets Usyk above the rest.
“Okay, you win, and you get a good run, you’re 21-0 or 22-0 – but are you in the best shape all of the time, or are you going down because you think that everybody’s just allow you to win?
“Ain’t nobody allowing you to win, you won because you won, but as soon as you make an adjustment, your mind starts going down another way and then it’s hard to get back.”
Whilst Holyfield ranks Oleksandr Usyk in the top three greatest heavyweights of all time, he also doesn’t agree with the consensus opinion that Muhammad Ali ranks at #1.
Evander Holyfield believes he was greater than Muhammad Ali
In conversation with Seconds Out at the Ring Magazine Awards last week, Holyfield would make the case that he was the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, even greater than Muhammad Ali.
“I’m the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world but they are still talking about Ali when I broke his record,” argued Holyfield, pointing to the fact that “I’ve been the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world for 24 years.
“You can’t talk about it until you break someone’s record, they don’t say nothing about me. How do you cut somebody out of history? Now I didn’t even know I was the first person to be undisputed in two weight divisions until Usyk did it.”
Holyfield reigned as heavyweight king from 1990-1992, 1993-1994, 1996-1999, and 2000-2001 – with notable wins over the likes of Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Buster Douglas, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer, Mike Tyson, and Hasim Rahman.
“They keep saying Ali is the best fighter, no I am – he was three times [champion], I’m four.”