Commentator: “Usyk Is Starting to Be Overrated as a Heavyweight Champion”

American TV host and boxing analyst Max Kellerman has shared his opinion on undisputed Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, arguing that expectations about Usyk’s legacy in the division may be inflated.

“Over time, people have started to overrate Usyk as a heavyweight champion, but underrate him as a pound-for-pound fighter overall. He is one of the best boxers, regardless of weight class, in the history of the sport. But speaking strictly about heavyweight, his résumé, although very high in quality, is still a bit short. He hasn’t beaten, say, ten top heavyweights, has he?

And even when we look back on Usyk’s place in history — yes, he beat Fury twice, he beat Joshua twice. And then someone like Parker will be a name you recall on that list. Even if Usyk beats him, there will still be the question: ‘Who else did he beat?’ And we’ll say: ‘Well, Joshua beat Joseph Parker.’ So Parker becomes a name used to bolster the résumés of other champions.

When you think of someone like Muhammad Ali, it wasn’t only that he beat Frazier, Foreman, Lyle or Norton. He fought Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Ron Lyle, Earnie Shavers, Henry Cooper, Doug Jones — a long list of strong opponents.

Evander Holyfield — same thing. It wasn’t just that he beat Tyson, or fought Lewis, or took revenge on Riddick Bowe. He fought Mercer and many others — so many I can’t even recall all of them right now.

But the key is he fought all the best of his generation. And that, I think, is what truly matters,” Kellerman said.

In July, Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) defeated Daniel Dubois by fifth-round knockout to become an undisputed world champion for the third time in his career.

Recently, Serhii Lapin, director of Usyk’s team and CEO of Ready to Fight, revealed how many more fights the Ukrainian plans to have and who he may face next.