Sports
Oleksandr Usyk says one man stands alone as the greatest heavyweight ever
Heavyweight boxing’s return to the top of the sport has reignited debate over where the division’s modern champions belong among the giants of the past, and now Oleksandr Usyk himself has offered his view.
Usyk, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder have defined the era between them, with Usyk emerging as the clear standard-bearer as boxing enters 2026.
How history ultimately judges them will only become clear with time, but by Usyk’s own assessment, neither he nor his contemporaries belong anywhere near heavyweight boxing’s greatest-of-all-time conversation.
Mail Sport Boxing recently put the Ukrainian to the test, asking him to categorise a selection of heavyweight greats — past and present — into four tiers: GOAT, God, Great and Good.
Despite his remarkable achievements at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, Usyk placed himself in the Good category, alongside Joshua and Wilder. One tier above, in Great, he selected 1980s phenomenon Mike Tyson, Britain’s last undisputed champion Lennox Lewis, the history-making George Foreman, and Tyson Fury — the man Usyk defeated twice in 2024.
The God category was left vacant. At the very top, however, there was no hesitation.
“GOAT.”
That honour went to Muhammad Ali.
More than six decades on from his first world title triumph, “The Greatest” remains the hardest act to follow and the toughest standard to meet — not just at heavyweight, but across the entire sport. Ali’s personality, charisma, humour, God-given talent and historic accomplishments continue to stand alone, unmatched and, for now, untouchable.
Yet Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) is more than merely “good”. His victories over Fury, Joshua and Daniel Dubois have showcased a heavyweight of rare sophistication — one who, like Ali, can box, set traps and move at a speed normally reserved for smaller men.
That he shares Ali’s birthday — January 17 — only adds a poetic footnote to a career that, while humble in self-assessment, is already etched deep into heavyweight history.
