Oleksandr Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk, born January 17, 1987, in Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine, found his calling in the sport of boxing and quickly ascended the ranks. Known for his agility, intelligence, and precision, Usyk dominated the cruiserweight division, becoming the first boxer to hold all four major titles in this category. His transition to the heavyweight division was just as successful, catching the attention of boxing fans and experts alike. Usyk secured upset decision victories over Anthony Joshua, thereby adding the IBF, WBA, and WBO heavyweight titles to his impressive collection.

Usyk’s journey in the heavyweight division did not halt there. Despite negotiations for a title unification bout with Tyson Fury falling through initially in 2023, talks resumed later, hinting at a potential showdown between these two formidable boxers. While waiting for the outcome of these discussions, Usyk was expected to defend his WBA, IBF, and WBO titles against Britain's Daniel Dubois, who holds the WBA regular belt and is a mandatory challenger.

In terms of accolades, Usyk’s unique fighting style and his transition from the cruiserweight to the heavyweight division have earned him widespread recognition and respect in the boxing world. Known as “The Cat", Usyk’s name is often listed amongst the greats of the sport, marking him as one of boxing’s most exceptional talents.

Oleksandr Usyk like Lomachenko is also a right-handed southpaw who fights similarly due to having been trained by Lomachenko’s father. Footwork is the name of the game and Usyk is always using this to secure advantageous positions where he can hit his opponents and they can’t hit him. Usyk loves to do this against his orthodox stance opponents by hand-fighting with his lead hand. He will hand fight by setting a rhythm that his opponent gets sucked into. Once they are used to the rhythm, Usyk will break that rhythm with a double jab while stepping over to the outside of his opponent’s lead foot. From there, he can hit them and they cannot return fire or properly defend without adjusting the position.

With Usyk’s lead hand being his dominant hand, he loves to constantly use his lead hand to not only hand fight but also probe and jab. By constantly probing or showing his opponent his lead hand, it invites them to react by reaching out or adjusting their guard, and Usyk is excellent at countering the opening with his jab. Usyk will shoot his jab at a high pace to get his opponents to shell up and stay on the defensive. He will also jab at different targets such as each of his opponent’s gloves, the body, and straight down the middle to keep his opponents confused as to where he will throw. Combine this constant jab with constant lateral movement and now his jab is coming from different angles. His opponents will need to be able to keep up with his footwork to defend the constant jabs from changing angles. Eventually, the jabs cause his opponents to shell up into a tight guard. From there Usyk brings his rear left hand into play by either looping it around the guard or smashing through it.