Oleksandr Usyk picked Terence Crawford as the world's best boxer. The Ukrainian heavyweight champ shared his top five pound-for-pound list with DAZN, leaving himself out of the rankings.
Usyk's rise to the top of boxing has been impressive. He won Olympic gold in London 2012, dominated the cruiserweight division, and then moved up to heavyweight. There, he beat Anthony Joshua twice to grab the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts. He then added the WBC title by defeating Tyson Fury to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Now, Usyk's getting ready for a rematch with Fury on December 21 in Saudi Arabia. But when asked about the best boxers regardless of weight class, he put Crawford at the top.
DAZNBoxing/status/1866875591611269189?t=SvuxmX2mfc1S72eBJCyfIw&s=31" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Usyk's full top five list goes like this: Crawford, Saul Alvarez, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Naoya Inoue.
Crawford's spot at the top makes sense. He's undefeated with 41 wins, 31 by knockout. He's won titles in four weight classes and has been undisputed champion twice. Right now, he's trying to set up a fight with Alvarez, who Usyk ranked second.
It's interesting that Usyk put Joshua and Fury on his list. He's beaten both of them. Joshua lost to Usyk twice by decision, first losing his titles and then failing to win them back. Fury lost his WBC belt to Usyk in their first fight, which set up the upcoming rematch.
Usyk's list shows he respects his rivals. He's faced tough competition on his way to the top, and he's not shy about giving credit where it's due. As he gets ready to face Fury again, it's clear Usyk sees himself among boxing's elite – even if he won't say it himself.
