Teddy Atlas, a boxing expert with years of experience as a trainer and analyst, thinks Oleksandr Usyk might be the only current fighter who could end up among the all-time greats.
Atlas has worked with some of boxing's biggest names. He helped Cus D'Amato train a young Mike Tyson, who went on to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. He also guided Michael Moorer to a heavyweight world title in 1994.
During an episode of his podcast "The Fight," Atlas talked about his list of the greatest boxers ever. He mentioned fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali. But when it comes to today's boxers, Atlas sees things differently.
"It would be pretty hard, the era is different. Usyk might be the only one, [Naoya] Inoue is great, [Terence] Crawford is great, but they're not going to have an opportunity to go down the roads that these fighters went down, those roads and opportunities don't exist any more, that era is gone. You have to go down some of those roads to get on this list."
Atlas feels that today's boxing world doesn't offer the same chances for fighters to prove their greatness as it did in the past.
Usyk has already done a lot in his career. He's been the undisputed champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight. He's never lost a professional fight. He's beaten Anthony Joshua twice and Tyson Fury. He also won a gold medal at the Olympics.
Right now, Usyk wants to become a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion. He's set to fight Daniel Dubois, who holds the IBF belt. There's also talk about a possible fight with Joseph Parker, the WBO challenger. The WBO still needs to decide if they'll let the undisputed title fight happen first.
Atlas's words remind us that being considered one of the greatest boxers ever isn't just about winning fights. It's about facing tough opponents and overcoming big challenges throughout a career. In Atlas's view, Usyk is the only current boxer who might have a shot at joining that exclusive club.
