Evander Holyfield doesn’t often hand out this kind of respect, but he’s making an exception for Oleksandr Usyk.
Holyfield, widely considered one of the greatest heavyweights ever and the only fighter in boxing history to become a four-time world heavyweight champion, built much of his legendary run by dominating aggressive bullies like Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, and George Foreman.
But in a conversation with Boxing Social, he admitted that Usyk’s more elusive, less aggressive style is exactly the kind of matchup that would have given him real trouble, explaining that fighters who don’t come forward aggressively were always his toughest challenge, unlike the bullies he handled so comfortably throughout his career.
It probably [would have] been difficult for me [to beat him]. Guys that I was real good with were bullies. A guy that was aggressive. I handle very aggressive fighters real well.”
“If you ever want to know how a guy would give a guy a problem – find somebody just like yourself. People who [weren’t] aggressive were difficult.
Usyk has gone on to beat Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Daniel Dubois twice each on his way to becoming a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion. This feat puts him in the same rare company as Holyfield himself, who was the only man to hold undisputed status at both cruiserweight and heavyweight until Usyk repeated it in 2024.
Usyk has said he plans to fight just once more before retiring, with speculation building over who that final opponent might be.
