Ali vs Usyk – Could “The Cat” Have Beaten “The Greatest”?

The current undisputed heavyweight boxing monarch is the undefeated southpaw from  Simferopol, Crimea, in the Ukraine, Oleksandr Usyk, aka “The Cat.” He turned pro in late 2013, but had a more-than-extensive amateur career, with a ledger of 335 wins against only fifteen losses. This included winning the heavyweight gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, as well as victory in a semipro tourney called the “World Series of Boxing.”

In 2016 Usyk entered the world cruiserweight unification tournament in only his tenth professional bout and had to defeat a field that was loaded with talent to emerge as the undisputed  world cruiserweight champion. First, he won a  twelve round unanimous decision over undefeated  Krzysztof Glowacki of Poland to capture the WBO crown, and he defended it three times, against (in  order): Thabisco Mchunu of South Africa, unbeaten Michael Hunter of the USA, and Marco Huck of Germany. Next, he added the WBC belt when he edged a close twelve round verdict over Latvia’s Mairis Briedis, who also owned an unblemished slate.

In the final unification match, Usyk pounded out a wide points nod over undefeated champion Murat Gassiev of Russia, who had earlier taken the WBA bauble from Yuniel Dorticos of Cuba. Amazingly, Oleksandr took on all of these champions on their own turf. The trophy  he won for the unification series was called the Muhammad Ali Trophy, and was presented by Ali’s widow, Lonnie Ali. In retrospect, this seems very appropriate, as the Ukrainian has indeed earned the right to be compared with the legendary fighter they call “The Greatest.”

After one defense of his undisputed title in a come-from-behind knockout of Britain’s Tony Bellew, Oleksandr cast his four belts aside and entered the heavyweight division. Following a cursory warm-up bout against Chazz Witherspoon (a relative of former heavyweight champ “Terrible” Tim  Witherspoon), Usyk tackled gatekeeper Derek Chisora. The fight was a good one and went the twelve round route, with Usyk getting the decision. Many criticized the former cruiserweight’s performance as being less than expected, but Oleksandr had reasons for a perhaps subpar execution. He was still acclimating to the higher weight class and was battling a hard-punching swarmer in  Chisora, the type that generally gives a skilled boxer trouble.

Usyk’s next six fights have cemented his status as a heavyweight, cruiserweight, and pound-for-pound legend. He took on and triumphed over—twice each—the following: Anthony  Joshua, Daniel  Dubois, and Tyson Fury. He found a rough spot in facing each, but was clearly the better fighter in all six contests, in my humble opinion.

In comparing the Ukraine native with Muhammad Ali, and when contemplating a hypothetical Ali vs Usyk showdown, it’s interesting to note that these two champions are exactly the same size, at 6′3″ and about 220 pounds, with a 78″ reach. Coincidentally, they also share a birthday, January 17. And it can be said without fear of reproach that neither man ever faced an opponent like the other. The closest Usyk came to facing an Ali-like foe was probably in Mairis Briedis, while Muhammad’s nearest analog to Oleksandr might have been Jimmy Young or Jimmy Ellis. Something that makes Usyk unusual is his southpaw stance. While he had faced innumerable orthodox boxers, Muhammad only battled two portsiders in his entire professional career: Karl Mildenberger and Richard Dunn.

The German, Mildenberger, was only a fair performer and was well behind on points when Ali stopped him in round twelve in 1966. His style, however, gave the defending world champion trouble early on. Dunn was a mediocre British pug whom Ali stopped in five, and who was starched in his next bout by Joe Bugner in one round. It goes without saying that Usyk is several levels of magnitude above Dunn and Mildenberger. The Ukrainian’s heart, chin, and stamina have all been tested and not found wanting in the least. Body shots can bother and hurt him (especially low ones), but he has shown ample resistance and resilience there as well. Body punching was by no means an Ali forte. Neither was infighting, something Usyk is rather good at.

Oleksandr’s feinting ability, his timing and accuracy, and his combinations are all elite level. As quick as a prime Usyk was though, Ali’s blurring hand and foot speed were at least slightly superior. His footwork in particular has probably never been matched in heavyweight history, despite the  existence of such marvels of mobility as “Gentleman” Jim Corbett, Charles “Kid” McCoy (only  included because of his competition at heavyweight), Gene Tunney, Jersey Joe Walcott, and Larry Holmes.

But as great as Muhammad Ali was, he made some key technical mistakes. For example, he leaned back from punches with his arms down, rather than ducking or slipping. He also threw uppercuts incorrectly, inviting a quick left hook counter. Ali’s blazing speed allowed him to get away with these blunders on the majority of occasions, but a master boxer such as Usyk would be able to exploit them. The Black Superman’s kryptonite was a left hook to the head (see Sonny  Banks, Henry Cooper I, and all three Frazier fights), and a left, either hooked or straight, is Oleksandr’s best power punch. You can bet he would land it fairly often on Ali.

Muhammad has been deified, especially in recent decades, when new generations of boxing fans have heard of his exploits without taking a deeper dive into his deficiencies. He is on the short list of the best big boxers ever, and might have been the greatest—there is just no way to prove it. But, this author believes that, in spite of Usyk’s heavyweight résumé being inferior to the best of the Ali-Frazier-Foreman era, the eye test of his abilities, strengths, and weaknesses reveals him to be at their magnitude. I understand the following statement will be difficult for many readers to swallow, and will no doubt spawn dissenters, but I feel Oleksandr Usyk, prime to prime, would be even money versus Muhammad Ali, and he would have held his own in that golden age of heavyweights that Ali scrapped in.       – Christopher J. LaForce