Nothing That Crawford and Inoue Have Done in Their Careers Is Greater Than What Usyk Has Accomplished, Says Former 2-Division World Champ

Earlier in the month, with a statement win over the slick Luis Nery, Naoya Inoue reportedly made it to the top of the boxing world. But his reign, it seems, barely lasted a few weeks. Oleksandr Usyk, despite his split decision victory over Tyson Fury, usurped ‘The Monster’. As it appears, three reigning champions and one former undisputed champion now top The Ring magazine’s pound-for-pound rankings.

The top-dog debate is a never-ending head-scratcher in boxing. The ongoing one is a real mind-bender. Who is better? Is it Terence Crawford, the first man to become a two-division undisputed champion? Or the Japanese phenom who followed him? Where does that place the century’s first undisputed heavyweight champion? Former two-division titleholder Tim Bradley is pretty clear who leads the food chain now.

‘The Cat’ Crosses the Finish Line First

The 40-year-old, famous for his trilogy matches against great Manny Pacquiao, first made it clear: he greatly admires Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue and what they have done for boxing. “I love Terence Crawford; he brings a ton of skill into the ring, but he’s been extremely inactive. I love Inoue as well,” he said.

The Nebraskan Southpaw has awed the world with his outstanding skills in the ring. ‘The Monster’, on the other hand, has single-handedly revolutionized the lower weight divisions. However, in Oleksandr Usyk, Bradley emphasized, you have an all-together different beast.

Sharing how the Ukrainian champion defeated a hitherto unbeaten Tyson Fury, ‘Desert Storm’ said, “But this right here, man, you know, becoming undisputed at cruiserweight and going up to the heavyweight and facing a guy that hadn’t been beaten in in over, I don’t even know how many years man.”

He acknowledged that ‘The Gypsy King’ has been a great heavyweight champion. However, despite what he or, for that matter, ‘Bud’ Crawford or Inoue bring to the table, what Oleksandr Usyk has achieved is way out of the league. “Tyson Fury, who I highly truly believe is a great heavyweight champion or was a great heavyweight champion, is unbelievable man, and nothing that Terence Crawford has done in his career or nothing that Inoue has done in his career is greater than what Usyk has accomplished or accomplished on Saturday night.”

Surprisingly, many of those who commented seem to agree with Tim Bradley. Though someone still thought that Terence Crawford’s beatdown of Errol Spence Jr. made him stand above the rest, the overall mood conveyed a sense of acceptance.

Oleksandr Usyk, ‘The Omnipresent’

There could be some reason why so many concurred with the ‘Desert Storm’. Both Terence Crawford and Naoya enjoyed a stellar amateur run before they turned professional boxers. However, with the Olympic gold medal hanging as a glittering memento and his achievements at both the world and European championship levels, Oleksandr Usyk stands on a completely different level.

Outside of his feat as the first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years, there remains a much lesser-known fact. In 1990, Evander Holyfield defeated James ‘Buster’ Douglas to become the undisputed heavyweight champion in the pre-four belt era. It followed his undisputed cruiserweight championship triumph two years earlier. Since then, only Usyk has been able to match the feat. His May 18 undisputed victory follows his 2018 cruiserweight undisputed championship. Thus, it makes him the first boxer since 1990 to have made such a giant leap.

Let’s face it. Three days ago, Lawrence Okolie knocked down Lukasz Rozanski in the first round to become the WBC bridgerweight champion. He weighed around 222.6 during the final weigh-in. For the ‘Ring of Fire’, Oleksandr Usyk weighed 223 lbs. He clocked roughly 2.79 stones less than the Mancunian. But despite his weight being fit enough for a bridgerweight, ‘The Cat’ shook up ‘The Gypsy King’ so violently.

At age 37, Oleksandr Usyk might be a match or two short of retirement. With just 22 professional outings in his kitty, he might have participated in a much smaller number of fights when compared to many others. But the timeline of his achievements and their scope shrinks, making up for that shortcoming by leaps and bounds.

Do you agree with Tim Bradley’s argument? Please let us know whether Terence Crawford or Naoya Inoue should rule the pound-for-pound roost.