BOXING
Oleksandr Usyk considers return to cruiserweight
The undisputed heavyweight champion has spoken of the difficulty of maintaining the weight needed and said that he may go back down to cruiserweight.
There has never been a boxer like Oleksandr Usyk. There. I said it. Is he a pound for pound fighter? Is he an all-time great? Emphatically, yes to both.
No cruiserweight has so dominated the division like Usyk did when he blasted his way onto the scene. As an amateur, Usyk had a stunning 335-15 record. He won gold at the 2012 Olympics, the same games that brought Anthony Joshua to the world stage. He is the first and only boxer in history to unify all four world titles at cruiserweight. He is also the first and only boxer in history to defend that undisputed cruiserweight world title.
When he decided to go up to heavyweight, Usyk swept all competition aside, stripping the titles from Anthony Joshua and now Tyson Fury. There is none who can challenge Usyk. He has left the heavyweight division a shattered husk of itself.
Usyk has ruled out a trilogy with either Joshua or Fury, and indeed now says that he would like to return to cruiserweight.
“I think maybe after the rematch, I am going to go down in weight to cruiserweight,” says the Ukrainian White Rabbit. “I want more cruiserweight.”
Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas added, “Maybe we go back down to cruiserweight. We spoke about it yesterday, to get undisputed for a second time in the cruiserweight division.”
Usyk explained the stunning choice by explaining that the calorie intake to maintain his size for heavyweight is difficult for him. “Maybe, it is my plan because when I start to prepare for my training camp, I have to eat all the time. For me it’s hard, I don’t like it.”
This last bout with Tyson Fury saw Usyk at his heaviest ever, coming in at 224 pounds. The challenge facing Usyk isn’t one of skill or size, but of opposition. There is nobody at cruiserweight who comes close to his level. And now it would appear that there is nobody at heavyweight either.