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Heavyweight boxing’s return to the pinnacle of the sport has reignited debate over where the division’s modern champions stand among the giants of the past. Alexander Ousyk he himself gave his point of view.
Usyk, Tyson Fury, Antoine Joshua And Deontay Wilder have defined the era between them, with Usyk becoming the clear standard-bearer as boxing enters 2026.
How history will ultimately judge them will only become clear with time, but in Usyk’s own assessment, neither he nor his contemporaries belong in the greatest heavyweight boxing conversation of all time.
Sports boxing by mail recently put the Ukrainian to the test, asking him to rank a selection of great heavyweights – past and present – into four levels: GOAT, God, Great and Good.
Despite his remarkable achievements at cruiserweight and heavyweight, Usyk placed himself in the Good category, alongside Joshua and Wilder. A level above, in Great, he selected 1980s phenom Mike Tyson, Britain’s last undisputed champion Lennox Lewis, the historic George Foreman and Tyson Fury – the man Usyk beat twice in 2024.
The God category remained vacant. But at the top, there was no hesitation.
“GOAT.”
This honor went to Muhammad Ali.
More than six decades after his first world title, “The Greatest” remains the toughest act to follow and the highest standard to meet – not just at heavyweight, but in the entire sport. Ali’s personality, charisma, humor, God-given talent and historic achievements remain unique, unmatched and, for now, untouchable.
Yet Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) is more than just “good.” His victories over FuryJoshua and Daniel Dubois presented a heavyweight of rare sophistication – one who, like Ali, can box, set traps and move at a speed normally reserved for smaller men.
The fact that he shares Ali’s birthday – January 17 – only adds a poetic note to a career that, while humble in its self-assessment, is already deeply etched in heavyweight history.
