Oleksandr Usyk wrote his name into boxing folklore after beating Tyson Fury for the second time last December.
The 38-year-old from Ukraine outpointed ‘The Gypsy King’ over another 12 competitive rounds at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to retain his unified WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles and secure his status as the greatest heavyweight of this generation.
Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the ‘four belt era’ in his initial encounter with Fury last May, although their first bout arguably closer than their rematch on December 21.
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Despite being without a doubt the absolute best heavyweight of this era, he has recently admitted that there is only one heavyweight in the history of the sport that he believes would have gotten the better of him at his very best.
In a round of ‘Prime vs Prime; Winner Stays On’ with Daily Mail Sport, Usyk didn’t hesitate to name the one heavyweight who would defeat him.
“Muhammad Ali.”
Muhammad Ali‘s legacy is undeniable, with many regarding the late-great heavyweight icon as the greatest fighter in boxing’s long and storied history.
‘The Greatest’ enjoyed incredible success throughout his professional career, where he defeated the likes of Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Ken Norton to name a few.
The most successful period of Ali’s career came in the mid-to-late 1970s, where he kept a hold of the undisputed heavyweight championship which he won when he beat Foreman in ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’ back in 1974.
‘The Greatest’ went on to make 10 defences of the titles he won from ‘Big’ George that night, before he was dethroned by Leon Spinks when they fought in February 1978.
