Oleksandr Usyk is an excellent fighter. He proved that during his two matches with Tyson Fury.
Usyk won both, turning a split decision in their first fight into a unanimous decision in the second.
Fury was adamant the judges got it wrong, but that's a claim Usyk simply dismissed.
“Okay, no problem. I'm winning,” said the unified WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion.
“I won, that's enough.”
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Fury delivers the verdict right after his loss to Usyk
But against Fury, Usyk was able to show his capacity for greatness. Fury was the perfect match for him.
“He's my best friend,” Usyk joked. But he honestly added: “I have a lot of respect for this guy because I think he's very tough, my opponent. Tyson Fury makes me strong.
“Tyson Fury is a great opponent, big and tough. He's a good man. Tyson talks a lot. It's just (for) show. I have a lot of respect for him. Twenty-four rounds, listen, that's history.”
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Hear what was said between Fury and SugarHill's trainer ahead of the final round against Usyk
Usyk earned the right to bounce back from another tough fight, even though Daniel Dubois, the IBF titleholder, called him out first for unifying the four belts.
“My next step. I'm resting,” Usyk said. “Don't think about boxing, Dubois, Tyson Fury. Just rest. Just play with my kids.”
Ukrainian promoter Alex Krasyuk also noted: “Dubois has to fight Joseph Parker and this is a very difficult fight for him.
“It is too early to mention Daniel's name in connection with Usyk.”
Usyk's greatness is not only due to his excellence in the boxing ring, collecting all the different championship belts, first at heavyweight, then at light heavyweight, while defeating all the best fighters in each of those divisions.
He stands for something. After defeating Fury, Usyk held the sabre, an artifact sent from the museum, which the “hetman” or field marshal had wielded in the war against Russia in the 17th century. Usyk knew that he represented the struggle of his people against the current Russian invasion.
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Usyk used his great boxing skills to defeat Fury on the scoreboards and retain his world heavyweight titles
With his knack for blending the personal and the political in his thoughts, Usyk dedicated Saturday night's victory to his mother.
“This victory is for my mom and all Ukrainian moms,” he said. “I'm just happy that I won, that's it. I like to motivate people, to give them an incentive to do something. For me, this is my motivation.”
Wladimir Klitschko was the dominant Ukrainian heavyweight champion in the pre-Usyk era. He celebrated with his country's newest hero in the ring after this latest fight.
Klitschko would never box Usyk but has toyed with the idea of coming out of retirement to fight Fury, who dethroned him as unified world champion in 2015. He was happy to say a Usyk victory would keep him retired.
He spoke bleakly of the people in their country, with many facing such heavy bombing that, with the internet down, they only learned the news of Usyk's victory the next day.
Usyk celebrates with Wladimir Klitschko
“We in Ukraine know that every day is a gift and it is especially important that we do not take our eyes off this barbaric war that is happening,” Klitschko explained. Sky Sports.
“Oleksandr supports the struggles of our military forces, supports the Ukrainian struggles, not only financially, not only with his actions of staying in Ukraine, but also promotes our country through this sport.
“It's another way to show that we Ukrainians will defend our right to live in a democratic country.”
For Klitschko, Usyk is of course still “the worst man on the planet”. After that second win over Fury, few would argue with him now.