Evander Holyfield has had his say on where he thinks Oleksandr Usyk ranks in the list of all-time great heavyweights.
Throughout his 27-year career, Holyfield captured the undisputed championship at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, which makes him only one of two fighters in boxing history to achieve this feat next to Usyk himself.
Holyfield made the move up to heavyweight to challenge Mike Tyson in November 1996, where he claimed an eleventh round stoppage victory over ‘Iron’ Mike to capture the WBA title.
He went on to unify the WBA and IBF titles with a win over Michael Moorer in 1997 before going on to lose his titles in his rematch against Lennox Lewis two years later, after they fought to a draw in their first bout.
Speaking to Fight Hub TV, Holyfield was asked to rank Usyk amongst the all-time great heavyweights, as he claims he belongs in the ‘top three’.
The Ukrainian superstar cemented himself as the greatest heavyweight of his generation after he defeated Tyson Fury for the second time on December 21.
Their first bout back in May was contested for the first undisputed heavyweight championship of the ‘four belt era’, which Usyk won via split decision after 12 close rounds.
Their highly anticipated rematch saw Usyk defend his WBC, WBA and WBO titles after he opted to vacate his IBF title last summer which paved the way for Daniel Dubois to be elevated to full champion.
Usyk retained his titles with a unanimous decision win, leading to ‘The Gypsy King’ to announce he was retiring from boxing at the beginning of this year.