Is Oleksandr Usyk Really That Great? Maybe Not as Good as You Think – Read Why Here!

Oleksandr Usyk is widely celebrated as the definitive fighter of his generation, an undefeated technician who has scaled the absolute highest peaks of professional boxing. By capturing every major world title in two separate weight classes, “The Cat” achieved a feat that very few in the sport’s history can match. He cleaned out the cruiserweight division to become undisputed champion, moved up to the land of the giants, and defeated Anthony Joshua twice to conquer the heavyweight division. He then cemented his place in history by handing Tyson Fury his first professional defeat to become the first undisputed four-belt heavyweight king.

Yet, as the dust settles on his historic run and he looks toward a potential “last dance,” a deeper look at his record reveals a series of narrow escapes and highly controversial moments. When you peel back the layers of his biggest victories, is Oleksandr Usyk truly an untouchable deity of the ring, or has he benefited from generous refereeing, timely stalling, and subjective judging? Let’s take an honest, critical look at the cracks in the armor of the modern heavyweight king.

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The Fury Dilogy: Masterclasses or Razor-Thin Escapes?

The crown jewels of Usyk’s heavyweight legacy are his two back-to-back fights against Tyson Fury. While Usyk was awarded the victory in both encounters, neither fight was a dominant blowout, and both left ample room for debate among fans and purists alike.

In their first fight, Usyk walked away with a split-decision nod primarily on the back of a spectacular ninth round where he severely hurt Fury. However, the middle portion of that fight belonged entirely to the “Gypsy King,” who used his immense size and slick boxing to dictate the pace. In the rematch, while the judges all scored it 116–112 for the Ukrainian, the round-by-round optics showed an incredibly competitive affair. Fury’s early success and cleaner power punching had Usyk looking uncharacteristically laboured at times. Had a few swing rounds been viewed slightly differently by the official judges, Fury could have easily had his hand raised in either contest, proving that Usyk is far from invincible at the weight class.

The Daniel Dubois Low Blow: Stalling for Time?

Perhaps the most glaring controversy of Usyk’s heavyweight reign occurred during his August 2023 defense against Daniel Dubois. In the fifth round of their unified title clash, Dubois unleashed a thunderous right hand to the beltline that dropped Usyk to the canvas, leaving the champion writhing in agony.

The referee immediately deemed the punch a low blow, granting Usyk an extensive period to recover. However, slow-motion replays ignited a global firestorm. The punch appeared to land directly on the waistband of Usyk’s trunks, which many experts and fighters argued was a perfectly legal body shot.

Because the referee didn’t start a count, Usyk was allowed to rest, catch his breath, and eventually regain his composure to stop Dubois later in the fight. Had the referee correctly or alternatively ruled that shot a legal blow to the body, Usyk would have likely been counted out right then and there. The incident left a permanent asterisk on his record, suggesting that “The Cat” can be broken to the body and may rely on official leniency when the going gets tough.

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Glory in Giza: The Bizarre Rico Verhoeven Stoppage

If the Dubois situation was highly controversial, Usyk’s May 2026 title defense against kickboxing icon Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza bordered on the surreal. Entering the bout as a massive favorite against a novice in professional boxing, an uncharacteristically sluggish Usyk struggled mightily to handle Verhoeven’s strength and size.

The official scorecards at the time of the dramatic 11th-round stoppage reveal just how close Usyk came to a historic upset:

Late in the 11th round, Usyk finally found an opening and landed a sharp right uppercut that sent Verhoeven to the canvas. Verhoeven beat the count, but referee Mark Lyson suddenly stepped in and waved off the contest with just one second remaining in the round—right as the bell rang.

The stoppage triggered immediate outrage and a formal appeal from Verhoeven’s camp. Critics argued that the referee robbed fans of a definitive 12th round. Had the fight not been abruptly stopped, Usyk would have almost certainly won the 11th round 10–8 due to the knockdown. Based on the mathematics of the judges’ scoring, the fighters would have entered the final frame with Usyk leading 105–103 on two cards and tied 104–104 on the third. While Usyk likely would have pulled out a close decision win, the fact that an elite pound-for-pound boxer was pushed to the absolute brink by a kickboxer making only his second professional boxing appearance severely damaged the myth of Usyk’s absolute supremacy.

Evaluating the Legacy: A Balanced Perspective

To fully understand where Oleksandr Usyk stands in the pantheon of boxing greats, we must balance his historic triumphs against these glaring vulnerabilities.

The general consensus among boxing historians still firmly places Usyk as one of the finest pugilists of the 21st century. His ring IQ, hypnotic footwork, and ability to conquer men vastly larger than himself cannot be completely written off by a few bad rounds or controversial moments.

However, ignoring the controversies does a disservice to the sport’s reality. Usyk is not an untouchable machine; he is a brilliant, yet deeply human fighter who has occasionally looked vulnerable, benefited from crucial referee interventions, and escaped by the absolute skin of his teeth. He is undoubtedly great – but perhaps not quite as flawless as his most ardent fans would have you believe.