Usyk closes 2018 brilliantly

Oleksandr Usyk has successfully completed 2018 by becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion, defeating the elite of the division and has undoubtedly established himself as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters. 

Usyk competed in the WBSS Tournament with seven of the best cruiserweights in  the world in mid-2017. In the quarterfinals, he faced Marco Huck in Germany, defeating him by technical knockout in the tenth round.

Then, on January 27, he traveled to Latvia to face the then unbeaten Mairis Briedis in the semifinals, gaining  an important majority decision win in a  candidate to be the best fight of the year.

In the finals of the tournament, he faced previously unbeaten Russian Murat Gassiev on his opponent’s home turf. A great performance completely dominating his rival to conquer the Muhammad Ali Trophy and become the undisputed champion. That night, Usyk commented that he would like to fight Tony Bellew.

Bellew responded to the call and Usyk decided to close the year with another important away from home challenge in Manchester, England. The Ukrainian had another great performance last weekend, defeating Bellew by technical knockout in round eight.

At the end of the fight, Usyk commented that this spell  had been one of the toughest as an athlete and that he was ready to rest for a few months.

Video Credit: Illarion Bessonov/Pavel Saharevsky