Is Oleksandr Usyk an all-time great? Tim Bradley says no

Commentator Tim Bradley took to his stage to lecture fans for labeling unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 12 KOs) a “Fantastic Time” for his win over Tyson Fury (34-2 -1, 24 KO) last Saturday evening in Riyadh.

Former undisputed two-division champion Usyk, 37, beat former WBC champion Fury for the second time, making it look easy. Before Usyk defeated the ‘Gypsy King’ for the first time earlier this year on May 18, fans had dubbed the 6’9″ British fighter the ‘Best Heavyweight on the Planet.’

GOAT status

Usyk knocked him off that perch, causing fans to change their tune and say he’s “washed out” or “never that good in the first place.” However, 2012 Olympic gold medalist Oleksandr’s victories over these top fighters forcefully demonstrate that he belongs among the greatest of all time:

– Antonio Giosuè
– Tyson Fury
– Daniel Dubois
– Mairis Briedis
– Murat Gassiev
–Marco Huck
– Michael Hunter
– Thabiso Mchunu
– Krzysztof Głowacki: *First career defeat
–Tony Bellew

“First of all, I’m not even going to talk about the fighting right now, but about all this all-time great stuff that’s going on. All great, are you kidding me?” said Tim Bradley on social media, reacting to the praise Oleksandr Usyk received from fans for his victory over Tyson Fury on Saturday night in Riyadh.

“Dude, look. Recency bias. Just because he beat the two best heavyweights [Fury and Anthony Joshua] doesn’t make him an all-time great,” Bradley continued, downgrading undisputed two-division champion Usyk.

“Usyk, he is NOT an all-time great. You have to stop with all this. He literally had seven fights. Give it to the guys in the heavyweight division. I understand he has accolades. He cleaned up the lightweight division. I understand it. Now it’s up to heavyweight. I wouldn’t say he knocked out, but he beat the two best guys in the division,” Bradley said of Usyk’s victories over the two British heavyweights, Fury and Joshua.

Clean up the division

Usyk’s wins over Fury, Joshua and Dubois mean he has cleaned up the heavyweight division. This, along with his successes as a cruiserweight, make him an all-time great and perhaps the best of all time.

“Now, you’re saying he’s an ‘all-time great.’ Come on, man. Oh! You have to stop him. He’s a legend in his own right, but an all-time great, y’all tripping,” Bradley said.