Despite boasting his sensational undefeated record, Oleksandr Usyk very nearly came unstuck during a forgotten fight against a tricky veteran.
Before his pair of undisputed heavyweight title runs, Oleksandr Usyk made a massive name for himself at the cruiserweight limit — having moved to pro boxing after a stellar amateur career, which included an Olympic gold medal win.
But before his heavyweight title run, Usyk made huge waves at the cruiserweight limit, culminating in a knockout of Tony Bellew to clinch the undisputed crown.
During that run, however, Usyk had no qualms about admitting he experienced the most difficult fight of his career against a forgotten knockout star.
Oleksandr Usyk narrowly beat Mairis Briedis in 2018 showdown
Just thirteen fights deep into his career back in 2018, Usyk was paired with Latvian striker Mairis Briedis on enemy territory in a trip to the challenger’s home country.
And having previously defeated former champion Marco Huck, as well as Polish star Krzysztof Glowacki, Usyk vied for the WBC cruiserweight belt, having clinched the WBO title.
In a southpaw versus orthodox pairing, Usyk would narrowly emerge with a majority decision win over the undefeated Briedis, who had scored a whopping 18 knockout wins in his career up until that point.
Reflecting on one of the judge’s scorecards, Usyk only convinced said official of a draw result, before explaining how his approach to boxing needed to be revamped, given the trouble he faced against the Skriveri native.
“Those are the most difficult rounds I’ve had in my career, and we will work on the improvement of my style,” Usyk said post-fight after his win over Briedis.
Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight move
After his knockout win over Liverpool fan-favorite Bellew in a very active 2018, Usyk would test his mettle at heavyweight against Chazz Witherspoon following a failed fight against kickboxer Tyrone Spong.
In just his third fight at the limit, Usyk would face off with former two-time heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua in his first world title fight at the weight class.
And toppling the Watford star in back-to-back impressive performances, Usyk defeated Joshua with unanimous decision victories.
- READ MORE — Anthony Joshua namechecked Mike Tyson in bitter tirade after dominant loss: ‘I’m a new breed of heavyweights’
After his wins over Joshua, Usyk would stop Daniel Dubois with a knockout win, before his pair of undisputed title fights against veteran rival Tyson Fury last year.