One heavyweight king
IT has been a while since a boxer held all major belts in the sport’s premier division, the heavyweight class.
To be exact, the last time a boxer was crowned undisputed heavyweight champion was November 1999, when Briton Lennox Lewis defeated American Evander Holyfield for the WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight crowns. Note that Lewis only held three belts but was recognized as “undisputed champion.” The WBO was founded in 1988 but it was still struggling for recognition when Lewis defeated Holyfield.
Lewis’ reign as undisputed champ was brief. He was stripped of the WBA title in 2000 for choosing to fight American Michael Grant instead of John Ruiz. Lewis knocked out Grant in just two rounds in April 2000.
Although stripped of the WBA crown, he was still recognized as lineal or genuine champ in the division until he retired in 2003.
Some 24 years later, the boxing world is on the verge of crowning a new undisputed champion.
On February 17, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, heavyweights Tyson Fury (34-0, 1 draw with 24 knockouts) and Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 knockouts) will clash for all the major belts in the weight class.
There is a twist here as the WBO is now recognized as a major governing body in boxing. The winner of the Fury-Usyk clash will thus go down in the record books as not only as the first undisputed heavyweight champ since Lewis but the first undisputed champ of the four-belt era: A champion who holds the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles simultaneously.
Fury holds the WBC title while Usyk owns the WBA, WBO and IBF crowns.
In November 2015, Fury defeated Wladimir Klitschko for the WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles. Fury was just one crown short (WBC) from becoming undisputed heavyweight champion.
Fury’s career, however, went on a tailspin after the Klitschko fight.
The IBF stripped Fury of the crown because the Klitschko fight carried with it a rematch clause that precluded Fury from facing the IBF’s mandatory contender Vyacheslav Glazkov. The rematch with Klitschko did not take place as Fury dealt with mental and physical issues. In October 2016, amid news of cocaine use and being medically unfit to fight, Fury gave up the WBA and WBO heavyweight crowns.
Fury was able to shake off the inner demons and return to the ring in June 2018. In February 2020, Fury became a champion again when he knocked out American Deontay Wilder to win the WBC heavyweight title.
He has since made three successful defenses of the WBC diadem.
Usyk crowned himself undisputed (WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF) cruiserweight champion in 2018. In March 2019, Usyk gave up the cruiserweight crowns to move up to the heavyweight division.
In September 2021, Usyk outclassed Briton Anthony Joshua in 12 rounds to win the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles. He has since made two defenses of the unified championships.
Fury-Usyk is a fight that took some time to finalize. Not a few accused Fury of avoiding Usyk by opting for lesser-known opponents.
In March 2023, negotiations crumbled over disagreements over the terms for a rematch. Usyk had accepted Fury’s demand for a 70-30 split of earnings in Fury’s favor but Usyk’s camp claimed Fury put up more outrageous demands.
A deal was finally forged for a December 2023 bout but the fight was delayed after Fury turned in a very disappointing performance in his nontitle fight against mixed martial arts star Francis Ngannou in October 2023.
Facing a foe with no pro experience, Fury was knocked down and barely escaped with a split-decision victory over Ngannou.
Fury has literally belittled Usyk, calling the latter a “middleweight.”
Usyk has taken all the harsh words in stride and ardently believes he will be crowned undisputed heavyweight king when the smoke of battle clears.
If Usyk wins, he will go down as a two-division undisputed champion, with reigns at cruiserweight and heavyweight. Usyk will follow in the footsteps of American Terence Crawford and Japanese Naoya Inoue as the only boxers to be crowned undisputed champion in two weight classes in the four-belt era.
Thus far, it is all systems go for the highly anticipated heavyweight clash. Usyk, however, is keeping his fingers crossed. Fury has a tendency to change his mind and there are loose whispers that his passion for the sport has waned after he struggled against Ngannou.
For pro boxing’s sake, let us hope the fight pushes through. The sport will be healthier and more exciting with only one ruler in the heavyweight division.