Evander Holyfield, one of the best heavyweights ever, thinks Oleksandr Usyk could beat him even at his best. That's a big deal coming from a guy who was undisputed champ at both cruiserweight and heavyweight.
Holyfield knows a thing or two about tough fights. He beat Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, and Riddick Bowe. But he sees something special in Usyk.
In a chat with Boxing Social, Holyfield explained why Usyk would be a tough match for him:
"He's a boxer too and it'd probably have been difficult for me because my whole thing is that I was real good with guys that were bullies, guys that were aggressive. I handled very aggressive fighters real well, it's just boxers.
I was a boxer, so I could beat them cause they fought my game-plan. If you ever want to know a guy that would give this guy a problem, find somebody just like him. People who weren't aggressive were difficult."
Holyfield's saying he was great at dealing with aggressive fighters, but boxers like Usyk gave him trouble. And Usyk's record backs that up.
Usyk's done it all. He was undisputed champ at cruiserweight, just like Holyfield. Now he's unified heavyweight champ after beating Tyson Fury twice. That's impressive stuff.
This summer, Usyk's got a chance to become undisputed heavyweight champ again. He'll face Daniel Dubois in a rematch. Their first fight last August ended with Usyk winning by stoppage in the ninth round.
That fight had some drama. Dubois thought he'd dropped Usyk with a body shot, but the ref called it a low blow. The WBA later said the ref made the right call.
Dubois isn't sitting around, though. He grabbed the IBF belt after Usyk gave it up following his first Fury fight. Dubois even defended it against Anthony Joshua in September.
The heavyweight division's heating up. With guys like Usyk and Dubois in the mix, we're in for some exciting fights. And when a legend like Holyfield picks Usyk as the one guy who could beat him at his best, you know it's going to be good.
