By Rachel Aylett: Almost lost in the recent excitement over the announcement that double world and Olympic champion, Vasyl Lomachenko, had signed a professional deal with Top Rank, was the news that his Ukrainian team mate Oleksandr Usyk, had also turned professional. Although not as celebrated as Lomachenko, Usyk is himself a former world and Olympic champion as an amateur.
Usyk has confirmed he will be boxing at cruiserweight as a professional. Unlike Lomachenko, he has signed to the K2 promotional team in Ukraine. When I discovered this I went on Twitter and stated my disappointment that he hadn’t also signed with Top Rank, as he would get better exposure with them. After a short while though, I realised the folly of that statement. Following the drug-related ban imposed on Antonio Tarver, there are no cruiserweights of any note in the U.S. The cruiserweight division in that country is as dead as the dodo. Apart from Panamanian Guillermo Jones, who appears in the ring about as often as we get to see Halley’s Comet, and Canadian Troy Ross, all of the top 200-pounders are either European or are based in Europe.
It seems hard to believe that fans in the home of boxing are not getting to see some of the most exciting fights in the sport over the last few years. Names like Marco Huck, arguably the most exciting fighter in the world, Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Denis Lebedev, Ola Afolabi, Krzystof Wlodarczyk and the terrific veteran Firat Arslan have thrilled us with their exploits. These fighters, along with several others, have mixed and matched the championship belts between them and all have taken part in brutal wars with each other. Of course Usyk wants to stay in Europe, it’s where all the action is!
Actually, the cruiserweights are the new heavyweights. If people are expecting the heavyweight division to return to excitement post-Klitschkos, I think they are mistaken. In the great era of Muhammad Ali, most heavyweights didn’t weigh much more than 200 pounds. Ali’s optimum fighting weight was 210. Larry Holmes, during his reign as champion, weighed between 210-215 pounds, until his weight started creeping up in 1982. This, then, is an ideal weight to make for great fights. The fighters have the knockout power of heavyweights, but also the speed to back it up. A perfect example of this is when Marco Huck put on a few pounds and challenged the small heavyweight Alexander Povetkin in February of last year. It resulted in the finest, most exciting heavyweight fight for many years. It was an absolute thriller. Today’s lumbering heavyweight giants normally weigh between 240-250 pounds at least. They’re just too big and cumbersome to make for good action fights.
So back to Usyk who, for me, was the star of the Ukrainian team at the London Olympics, coming to the ring with his Cossack haircut and performing that ritual dance in the ring after his victories. He showed off a goofy smile and is a huge personality and a great addition to the pro game. I was lucky enough to be at ringside at York Hall in February to see both he and Lomachenko box in the WSB tournament against the British Lionhearts. Whilst Lomachenko put on a fairly run of the mill performance in outpointing Britain’s Sam Maxwell, it was once again Usyk who stole the show. Boxing at Super-Heavyweight one weight up from his normal weight, Usyk took on the promising young Brit, Joe Joyce. Joyce, much the bigger man, was fresh off a victory over 2010 World Youth champion Filip Hrgovic and the excitement preceding his bout with Usyk was palpable. The Ukrainian was totally unphased however, storming out of his corner and attacking Joyce for the whole five rounds. The fact that Joyce was able to take so many clean head shots that night was a testament to his strong chin rather than any lack of power from Usyk.
If Usyk makes the progress many of us believe that he will, he is likely to be challenging for, and probably winning, a major championship belt at cruiser in a couple of years. By the time he has reached this stage, the Klitschkos should be gone and a vacuum will then exist in the heavyweight division. With no outstanding candidates to fill that vacuum, it is highly likely that four different “champions” will be crowned. Look then for Usyk to step up and challenge for the big one and follow in the footsteps of his countrymen Vitaly and Wladimir. For now, though, the best division in boxing just got even better!
@RachelAylett1
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