Oleksandr Usyk has conquered the best this generation has to offer in two divisions.
While he may believe Terence Crawford is the best in the world, no one can deny that Usyk is the greatest fighter of this era.
His Daniel Dubois rematch victory is the penultimate fight in his career, according to the Ukrainian, who has been boxing since the age of 15.
Not only has he fought in the ring against challengers like Tyson Fury, he has also trained and sparred a multitude of world champions from across weight classes.
Former champion Tony Harrison tells the Oleksandr Usyk sparring story where he was ‘schooled’
Even former super welterweight champion Tony Harrison has had the honour of sharing rounds with the 38-year-old.
Speaking on Cigar Talk, Harrison told the story of when he joined the Wladimir Klitschko camp and took on the then-unknown cruiserweight talent.
He said: “Usyk schooled me… He was a cruiserweight, and I got the opportunity to spar him.
“When I tell you the gentlemanship that he showed me, trust me, he was bigger, but he didn’t even use his size. There was so much gentlemanship involved when I sparred with him because I was the smaller guy, he didn’t try to overpower me.
The American admittedly had no idea who he was at the time, and because he walked ‘funny’, ‘Superbad’ thought he was in for an easy time.
“But when I got in there, I was like this guy is a magician, let me tell you he schooled me, no physical, no power… I couldn’t even hit him with a jab,” he exclaimed.
“I sparred the (Miguel) Cotto’s, the Jermaine Taylors, methodically speaking, (Usyk) was one of the best ever.”
If the Detroit native knew what he would have gone on to become, I’m not sure he would have stepped up to the plate so easily.
Boxing legend claims he would beat Oleksandr Usyk, ‘No one was beating me in my prime’
Interestingly, boxing legends from the past have explained how they would tackle a current great like ‘The Cat’ and beat him if he was in their era.
Roy Jones Jr himself was asked on a recent DAZN broadcast how he would’ve fared in a fantasy fight with the modern-day legend.
For ‘Superman’, there was no wavering in confidence, he said: “With Usyk? I would’ve found a way to beat him; that’s just who I was. I was not losing to nobody in my prime.
“I kind of know what I would’ve done but I’m not going to express that, because that’s for them to figure out, not me.”
Jones had a storied career, known for his superhuman skills in the squared circle; however, he did acquire some losses against greats like the 46-0 Joe Calzaghe, whom he knocked down in the first round.
Usyk is yet to taste defeat as a professional, and as the twilight of his career draws near, it is unlikely he ever will.