Oleksandr Usyk etched his identify into each the file books and into boxing legend along with his undisputed heavyweight title win over Tyson Fury on Saturday evening, changing into the primary ever four-belt champion of the division and the second fighter to develop into undisputed at each cruiserweight and heavyweight.
This achievement additionally made Usyk the fifth fighter to develop into a multi-divisional undisputed champion because the daybreak of the four-belt period and we at Boxing Social to rank the careers of those that have achieved the feat.
5. Claressa Shields
Eccentric and skilful, Claressa Shields is must-see TV for any fan of ladies’s boxing and for any followers of boxing 101 as a complete. In simply 14 skilled contests, Shields has conquered each the super-welterweight division and the middleweight division with out hardly dropping a spherical and is sort of probably the pound-for-pound biggest feminine fighter on the planet.
Shields turned undisputed at 154lbs with a win over Marie Dicaire in March 2021 however her talents have been really proven when she travelled throughout the pond and outpointed Savannah Marshall 18 months later, changing into the undisputed middleweight champion within the course of and the primary to take action in two divisions within the four-belt period.
Though the Marshall combat seems shut on the playing cards, it was nothing lower than a harshly scored masterclass delivered by Shields. Nevertheless, the shortage of a expertise pool exterior of Marshall in these divisions signifies that it will be robust for Shields to rank any larger than fifth.
4. Naoya Inoue
It seems like a cardinal sin to rank Naoya Inoue at fourth given his accomplishments during the last couple of years however the actuality is that, as with Shields, the names on his résumé usually are not sufficient to trump these above him – at the least not but.
Inoue’s hardest conflict got here with the legendary Nonito Donaire again in November 2019, who he dismissed with a second-round knockout win two-and-a-half years later.
This made ‘The Monster’ a three-belt unified champion and arrange a showdown with Paul Butler, who put survival first within the undisputed bantamweight title bout however was nonetheless stopped by the Japanese phenomenon within the eleventh-round.
The champion then vacated his belts in favour of a transfer as much as 122lbs, the place he confronted the undefeated poster boy of the division, Stephen Fulton, for the unified WBC and WBO titles in what many deemed to be a 50/50 affair beforehand. It was a slaughter.
Fulton was nailed with a prodigious mixture earlier than being stopped within the eighth-round, cementing Inoue’s declare to the pound-for-pound throne, a declare that was additional cemented with a knockout over the opposite unified champion, Marlon Tapales, simply 5 months later to develop into the undisputed super-bantamweight title-holder.
Inoue is now recognised as one of many ‘faces of boxing’ and is rightfully thought of to be a world famous person. Though, to actually emerge as the best fighter of the four-belt period, there’s a feeling that Inoue should replicate this kind within the featherweight division and at 30-years-old there’s loads of time for him to take action.
3. Katie Taylor
If the query was which of those fighters has carried out essentially the most for the game – Katie Taylor can be high of the record by an especially vast margin, taking the ladies’s scene to beforehand unimaginable heights and changing into a family identify within the course of.
Taylor lived as much as her extraordinary beginner pedigree and continued to seek out success as knowledgeable, defeating Delfine Persoon in 2019 to develop into the undisputed light-weight champion.
In contrast to others on the record, Taylor was in a position to defend her title on quite a few events, making a complete of seven defences of the usually simply fragmented undisputed crown, together with a modern-day traditional in opposition to Amanda Serrano.
The Irishwoman would then transfer as much as super-lightweight in pursuit of Chantelle Cameron’s undisputed super-lightweight throne, however picked up a primary profession defeat once they met final Might.
Six months later, Taylor was in a position to get her revenge on Cameron and develop into a multi-divisional undisputed champion, though the scoring of the affair was deemed controversial by many.
2. Terence Crawford
Terence Crawford has confirmed himself to be worthy of famous person standing, placing himself into the dialog as one in every of this millennium’s most spectacular, slick and ruthless fighters.
‘Bud’ first conquered the super-lightweight scene with wins over Thomas Dulorme, Viktor Postol and Julius Indongo, however it was his latest run at welterweight that can reside longer within the reminiscence.
A win over WBO champion Jeff Horn on his 147lb debut kickstarted his life on the weight in model and Crawford would defeat the likes of Amir Khan, Kell Brook and Shawn Porter within the years that adopted.
Crawford made six defence of the belt earlier than lastly touchdown the long-awaited undisputed conflict along with his rival Errol Spence Jr. and entered the ring because the underdog.
Nevertheless, on combat evening it was nothing wanting a brutal beatdown. Crawford obtained after Spence from the opening bell onwards and battered the unified champion from pillar to put up earlier than stopping his foe within the ninth-round in one of the crucial spectacular shows in latest reminiscence.
1. Oleksandr Usyk
Whatever the high quality of the others amongst this record, Oleksandr Usyk stands alone by way of the standard of opposition that he cleaned out throughout his runs at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
The London 2012 gold medallist turned undisputed cruiserweight champion with three wins that have been all on away soil, defeating the undefeated trio Krzysztof Glowacki, Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev of their dwelling nations of Poland, Latvia and Russia.
The old-school boxing mastermind then made the fabled transfer as much as heavyweight, the place many felt his lack of energy would see him bullied, however as an alternative he toppled the unified champion Anthony Joshua in simply his third bout on the weight, because the away fighter as soon as once more.
Usyk would then win the rematch in opposition to ‘AJ’, knock out Daniel Dubois and transfer on to the historic battle with Tyson Fury, the place he overcame a 40lb weight drawback and a six-inch top deficit to place an finish to each the undisputed file and reign of ‘The Gypsy King’ – a person who appeared tailored to be Usyk’s kryptonite.
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Be part of our channel by clicking right here and getting all the most recent boxing information direct to your cellphone.
