Pound for pound update January 2020: a new name at the top

5. Oleksandr Usyk

Record: 17-0, 13 KOs

Previous Ranking: 4 

Starting with this entry is where, in my opinion, there is a separation in class (with all due respect to fighters ranked 10-6). The top five are all in their primes, have good-to-great resumes, and just look different. These fighters could be rearranged in almost any order and there would be little argument from me; they’re all special.

As for Usyk, it is unfortunate that he fell a spot on our list, but it is not due to him regressing, simply other fighters raising their stock.

An Olympic Gold Medalist, the undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world and now a contender in the heavyweight division, Usyk is one of the most accomplished fighters in the sport.

In a span of roughly 24 months, Usyk was able to obtain all four of the recognized belts in the cruiserweight division, winning the World Boxing Super Series, and becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champ.

He is unquestionably the best cruiserweight since Evander Holyfield, and is now following in his footsteps by campaigning at heavyweight.

He is already the most skilled fighter in the division, and while he is not quite the stature of the big three (Wilder, Fury, and Joshua), he is far from small. Boxrec lists him at 6’3″, and he weighed in at 215 pounds for his debut at heavyweight against Chazz Witherspoon.

Witherspoon, with all due respect, is not much of an opponent, so it is hard to tell how Usyk will fare at the division. A fight against a solid veteran, someone like Carlos Takam, will give us a better sense of how Usyk will be as a heavyweight. If he is able to dominate against a fighter of that caliber, the sky is the limit for him at heavyweight.

Would he beat Wilder or Fury? Right now he’d be a pretty big underdog, but he would give Anthony Joshua FITS. It is unlikely that we see it, but hopefully we do given that Usyk is the mandatory for one of Joshua’s belts.