The Klitschko brothers dominated the Heavyweight scene after Lennox Lewis retired, but neither was able to secure all of the World Titles and officially be known as 'Undisputed'.
Oleksandr Usyk has done that once at Cruiserweight, but there is no doubting that being able to do the same in the Heavyweight Division would cement his name in history. Surpassing the achievements of the brothers (Klitschko, just in case Steve Bunce is unsure) would be huge alone, but becoming the first Undisputed Heavyweight Champion since the days of Lennox Lewis will put Usyk's name right along all of the previous greats of the Division.
Of course Tyson Fury will have a lot to say about that and a fight that has been long talked about, but delayed and delayed, is finally about to take place.
Vasyl Lomachenko once again became a World Champion last week and he has long targeted becoming Undisputed in the Lightweight Division and will look to march towards that goal.
There is little doubt he is in the back end of his long, successful career, but there may still be a road to Undisputed for Lomachenko having come up just a little short in previous attempts.
It was a dominant display against George Kambosos Jr and one where The Matrix looked back to his best.
He will have options now- Shakur Stevenson is the obvious one, but the WBO World Title is going to be contested this weekend and Denys Berinchyk would love to upset Emanuel Navarrete and then potentially Unify against his countryman. The story will be there with the two compatriots not on speaking terms after both are seen in different lights by Ukrainians at the moment, but beating Navarrete will be far from easy.
Denzil Bentley was also back in action last weekend and comfortably beat Danny Dingum- the key is to be active now, and not wait for any rematch with Nathan Heaney, especially as Bentley is operating in a wide open Middleweight Division that is lacking the star power we have come to expect.
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk
November 13th 1999... That is the last time we have had an Undisputed World Title fight in the most prestigious Division in Boxing.
Back then it was a three Belt era, with the WBO World Title very lightly regarded, but for the first time we will have all four major World Titles on the line when Tyson Fury puts his WBC Belt on the line with Oleksandr Usyk's Unified Belts.
Everything is on the line on Saturday- the Ring Magazine Belt, the Lineal Champion, and Saudi Arabia will be offering the winner a new Undisputed Belt.
Almost immediately we are going to expect the IBF World Title to be dropped by the winner of this one, but there will be no doubt for anyone that the winning fighter is the King of the Heavyweight Division and the best of this generation.
It has been a long time coming.
Even with the Saudi involvement, there have been two delays to the scheduled date for this Undisputed Bout, but we look to be there now and both Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk know how much is on the line.
After becoming the Undisputed Cruiserweight World Champion, it was clear that Usyk would be looking to move into the Heavyweight Division. Questions remained whether he had the size to take on the giants of the Division, but Usyk has taken the right steps and wins over Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua (twice) and Daniel Dubois show a fighter that is well accustomed to the new Division.
This feels like another step upwards for the Ukrainian.
There have been some critics of the Tyson Fury resume, including the likes of Eddie Hearn, but the win over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 is unmatched by any other fighter of this generation. Two wins over Deontay Wilder, and a controversial draw, shows that Fury is someone who can raise his game when he needs to and putting too much stock into the Francis Ngannou performance would be a mistake.
You do have to wonder if the miles have piled up on the clock considering the fluctuations in weight and a slightly less fleet of foot fighter that Tyson Fury has become, but he is still a very good Boxer and his size makes him tough to beat.
The reach and the weight could be key factors in favour of Fury, but you know Oleksandr Usyk is going to make him work, mentally and physically, for every second they are in the ring together. That is something that might be a little alien to Tyson Fury, but he may use all of his advantages to try and tie up Usyk, lean on him and see if he can sap some of the energy of the naturally smaller man.
Oleksandr Usyk will be moving, but he will not be running, and that is going to be important for him. Standing up to some of Anthony Joshua's biggest shots will certainly have given him confidence and trying to bait Fury into a mistake might be a key plan to try and steal some of the Rounds.
The feeling is that this is going to be a very tough to score fight- both are twitchy, both will be looking to pop and move and the suggestion is that we are going to see a real tactical battle.
This may actually favour Tyson Fury- with all of the talk from the organisers of this event about how keen they are to see Fury in with Anthony Joshua, the nagging feeling is that any close Rounds may see the judges lean to the 'home' fighter, in this case the one that makes the most money going forward.
I would hate for a controversial finish, but March 13th 1999 cannot be forgotten.
That was the first fight between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield which was controversially ruled a draw and I think the Rounds will be close enough where you may end up seeing people make a case for either side earning the Decision.
A draw cannot be ruled out again, especially with a rematch already set, while tight, competitive, chess style Rounds certainly open the door for intepretation.
Ruling out Tyson Fury from finding a special performance after a poor one would be a massive mistake, while I have so much time for Oleksandr Usyk.
This honestly feels like it will be a close fight and one that you should sit back and enjoy from a technical stance and just for the history it is making.
Gun to the head, I think I might just finally be leaning on Tyson Fury to edge to the victory- it just feels he is the one that more people invested in the fight would want to see come out on top for future massive events, and so close Rounds may see Judges look his way.
It would just be fitting for the occasion for a fair result to be handed out, but it is Boxing and there are always other factors at play.
Much like the other events we have seen in Saudi Arabia, and now including the card that has been signed off in Los Angeles and the expected card at Wembley Stadium, we have a very solid undercard to the main event.
Jai Opetaia is considered a Cruiserweight who will soon be looking to move up to Heavyweight himself, but for now he will be looking to regain the IBF World Title that was controversially stripped from him in December when he took on Ellis Zorro on the 'Day of Reckoning' card in Riyadh.
It was a bizarre decision at the time and even more bizarre that the IBF will then ask the Australian to fight for the vacant Belt against Mairis Briedis.
For some reason the organisation believed being active was some sort of crime and Jai Opetaia would have been better waiting for Briedis, who had postponed a previous rematch through injury. We are finally getting that rematch after Opetaia upset the Latvian in July 2022, but Mairis Briedis has not had a single Round of action since that defeat.
The younger man has had two fights since then which have lasted a total of Five Rounds, but you do have to wonder what kind of motivation Mairis Briedis will be bringing to the ring on Saturday.
He has been busy chasing Jake Paul, which is bizarre enough on its own, and it does feel like Briedis has one foot out of the sport.
That is not good news against a hungry, hard hitting fighter like Jai Opetaia who came through a broken jaw in the upset over the former Champion.
Becoming the first fighter to Stop Mairis Briedis would be some achievement and it could push Jai Opetaia on the road to collecting all of the Belts in the Division before any potential move to Heavyweight. If the Latvian has just lost a bit of love for the sport, Opetaia may just break him down and it might even end with Briedis calling it a day on his stool at some point after halfway when the fight may seem beyond him.
Two Heavyweights who impressed on the 'Day of Reckoning' card in December meet with their unbeaten records on the line.
Agit Kabayel removed Arslanbek Makhmudov's unbeaten record in a Fourth Round Stoppage as the underdog and he is in the same spot against Cuban Flash Frank Sanchez.
Inactivity has been a real problem for Kabayel, but that last win has to be respected.
However, he is now facing a very good fighter in Frank Sanchez who has the Boxing skills to really frustrate his unbeaten opponent. The win over Efe Ajagba has only looked better and better and the suggestion is that Sanchez will be capable of negating some of the Agit Kabayel qualities to earn a Decision win.
One of the more surprising 'favourites' of the Saudi Arabian organisers is Mark Chamberlain and he gets another chance to impress on a card here.
He has showcased some real power in recent fights, but takes on Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab who took Liam Dillon to the cards and was only just beaten for the first time.
This is a step up in weight for the Nigerian and that may end up showing up on the night, although it may take Chamberlain a little longer to break him down.
It should be noted that Mark Chamberlain has not had a Stoppage after the Fifth Round with three fights that have gone beyond that Round all reaching the cards. You do have to wonder if the power carries, but being the naturally bigger man may just play a part and this is the first Twelve Rounder of his career so the British fighter may just warm into the bout and wear down an opponent coming up in weight and class of opponent.
The expectation is that Joe Cordina will defend his World Title against a tough opponent in Anthony Cacace, but it could be closer than anticipated.
Moses Itauma should continue to steamroll his way towards the top of the Division, although hopes of becoming the youngest Heavyweight World Champion of all time may be fading.
The one fight that did intrigue is the return of Sergey Kovalev who takes on Robin Sirwan Safar- the latter would have been the stronger favourite if he had been more active, especially as Kovalev is not the fighter he once was. However, this could be something of a shoot out and they say power is the last thing to go for any fighter.
He is also a quality Boxer when at his best, but backing him to earn the upset might be too risky.
Over in the United States, Emanuel Navarrete is expected to win another World Title in another Division as the feeling remains that his promoters are continuing to match him very well.
His hand has been fixed up after the draw with Robson Conceicao, one fight that some felt Navarrete had lost, and he is fighting an unbeaten Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk who will be motivated by seeing his compatriots doing so well.
It could be much closer than the odds suggest.
MY PICKS: Jai Opetaia to Win Between 7-12 @ 2.87 Coral (1 Unit)
Frank Sanchez to Win by Decision @ 2.62 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Mark Chamberlain to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.50 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Boxing 2024: 21-30, + 18.17 Units (71 Units Staked, + 25.59% Yield)
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