Is Oleksandr Usyk an all-time great? Tim Bradley says no

Commentator Tim Bradley got on his soapbox to teach the fans a lesson for labeling unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 12 KOs) a “fantastic time” for the win over Tyson Fury ( 34-2-1, 24 KOs) Saturday night in Riyadh.

Former undisputed two-division champion Usyk, 37, beat former WBC champion Fury for the second time, making it look easy. Before Usyk defeated the ‘Gypsy King’ for the first time earlier this year on May 18, fans had been calling the 6’9″ British fighter the ‘Best Heavyweight on the Planet’.

GOAT status

Usyk has knocked him off that perch, causing fans to change their tune and say he’s “washed up” or “never that good in the first place.” However, 2012 Olympic gold medalist Oleksandr’s victories over these top fighters make a strong case that he belongs among the all-time greats:

– Anthony Joshua
– Tyson Fury
– Daniel Dubois
– Mairis Briedis
– Murat Gassiev
— Marco Huck
– Michael Hunter
– Thabiso Mchunu
– Krzysztof Głowacki: *First defeat of his career
– Tony Bellew

“First of all, I’m not even going to talk about the fight right now, but all this ‘All the time’ crap going on. All the great time, are you kidding me?” said Tim Bradley social networksreacting to the praise Oleksandr Usyk has been receiving from fans for his victory over Tyson Fury on Saturday night in Riyadh.

“Man, look. Recency bias. Just because he beat the two best heavyweights (Fury and Anthony Joshua) doesn’t make him an all-time great,” Bradley continued in his demotion of undisputed two-division champion Usyk .

“Usyk, he’s NOT an all-time great. You’re going to have to stop that. He’s had literally seven fights. You guys in the heavyweight division. I get that he’s got accolades. He cleaned up the cruiserweight division. I get that. Now, he comes to heavyweight. I wouldn’t say he cleaned up, but he beat the top two in the division,” Bradley said of Usyk’s wins over the two aging British heavyweights, Fury and Joshua.

Cleanup of the division

Usyk’s wins over Fury, Joshua and Dubois mean he has cleaned up the heavyweight division. That, along with his accomplishments as a cruiserweight, makes him a great and perhaps the greatest of all time.

“Now, you’re saying he’s an ‘all-time great’. Come on, man. Wow! Y’all gotta stop it. He’s a legend in his own right, but an all-time great, all tripped up.” said Bradley.