Oleksandr Usyk is one of the greatest fighters in the world, having captured boxing titles across both cruiserweight and heavyweight. His exploits in the latter weight class, however, are more well-known, as he currently reigns as the unified heavyweight champion of the world.
That is a distinction he held at cruiserweight, where he was the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring champion. His last bout in the division was against Tony Bellew, who himself was taking part in his last-ever professional boxing match in what was his final attempt at undisputed status.
While Tony Bellew did well, controlling the early rounds, he eventually tired, and Oleksandr Usyk gradually took control of the bout. Towards the end, with his opponent backed up in a neutral corner, the Ukranian boxing star rocked Bellew with a hard left. Two more blows sent him crashing into the canvas.
Despite Bellew's attempts to work his way back to his feet, the referee called the fight off, a decision that, in retrospect, Bellew believes saved him from sustaining irreparable damage, which he stated during his appearance as a contestant on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!:
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"Thank God the ref didn’t let me, because he’d have killed me. The ref literally saved my life. Next shot probably puts me away for good. So boxing at the highest level in the professional business is brutal. My priority was to make it home safe. After that it was to win at all costs."
After the fight, Tony Bellew retired from boxing. Meanwhile, Oleksandr Usyk moved on from cruiserweight, where he was one of its all-time greats, to the heavyweight division, where he has since enthroned himself as its unified king.
When is Oleksandr Usyk's boxing match with Tyson Fury?
Oleksandr Usyk's next fight is against fellow heavyweight boxing great Tyson Fury. The matchup went through the ups-and-downs of negotiations and was at great risk when it was announced on September 29, which was dangerously close to the Englishman's boxing match with Francis Ngannou, which he almost lost.
Ngannou's shockingly good performance against Fury, which included a knockdown, pushed Fury's bout with Usky past the initially projected December date. Now, it is scheduled to take place on February 17, 2024.