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Oleksandr Usyk is the best cruiserweight on the planet.
Usyk made history by giving Murat Gbadiev a complete boxing lesson in a near-white victory win to become the undisputed cruiserweight world champion in the world. Saturday's Super Series boxing final in front of a crowd of 24,000 spectators at the Olimpiysky Sports Complex in Moscow
Usyk, seeded number eight in the championship at eight, became the first fighter in the history of the division to unify the four world titles, and he also won the Muhammad Ali Trophy commissioned for the winner of the singles elimination tournament that kicked off last September. The trophy was handed to Usyk in the ring by Ali's widow, Lonnie Ali.
The judges had no trouble marking the bout – 120-108, 119-109 and 119-109 for Usyk. ESPN.com had 118-110 for Usyk, who manages to share the same birthday (January 17) with Ali.
Usyk became only the third undisputed cruiserweight world champion in the history of the division, joining the three-belt champions Evander Holyfield and O Neil Bell, and only the fourth male fighter to unify the four major titles in any weight category in the four-belt era, joining former middleweight champions Bernard Hopkins (2004) and Jermain Taylor (2005) and former super welterweight champion Terence Crawford ( 2017)
Usyk (15-0, 11 KOs), a 31-year-old lefty and Olympic gold medalist heavyweight of Ukraine in 2012, relied mainly on his best weapon – his forehand – while Gbadiev, a noted body puncher, targeted the average size of Usyk, but he did not have much success.
Usyk landed tons of jabs while Gbadiev's offense was more sporadic. In the second round, he tied himself with heavy left hands to the body to force Usyk to come back and a superb right hand to the head that shook Usyk in the last seconds of the fourth round, but there was not much left other to note.
Usyk continued to pose his jab cleanly in the sixth round by regularly shaking Gbadiev's head. Gbadiev (26-1, 19 KOs), 24, from Russia, seemed lost without answers. Gbadiev got a right hand in the seventh round, but Usyk, who had a reputation for having an excellent chin, did not move, which was discouraging for Gbadiev.
Gbadiev was reduced in search of a big punch. Usyk, faster and more skillful, circled circles around him and launched and received many more shots after round.
After the ninth round, Abel Sanchez, Gbadiev's coach, was frank with him, telling him that he needed a chance to win. But Gbadiev, distraught, seemed dejected as Oussyk continued to carry him until the end of the fight, inflating his left eye, making blood in the 10th round and sticking it with jabs, uppercuts and combinations.
conditioning by closing the show with 117 punches and 47 landing on the 12th round, the most in one or the other category for the fight for the historic victory.
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