George Groves discusses Oleksandr Usyk’s legacy after Max Kellerman’s comments

Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) enjoyed a storied amateur career, winning a plethora of medals, including gold in the heavyweight division at the 2012 Olympics in London. 

Since turning professional, Usyk has bested many world-class opponents at cruiserweight and heavyweight, becoming undisputed champion for the third time, following his most recent victory over Daniel Dubois.

His legacy and resume are among the best in history, but respected Max Kellerman recently revealed his doubts about the Ukrainian’s heavyweight legacy, saying: “As a heavyweight, [Usyk’s resume] is a little thin.” In an interview with Pundit Arena, George Groves has had his say on the Ukrainian’s legacy.

George Groves responds to the recent Max Kellerman comments on Oleksandr Usyk’s legacy

Oleksandr Usyk has reigned supreme at cruiserweight and heavyweight, defeating Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev, and Tony Bellew at cruiserweight, before moving on to heavyweight and defeating Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Daniel Dubois all twice.

He has avoided no one, but Kellerman feels his legacy is light compared to some heavyweight greats from the past. Addressing Kellerman’s comments, Groves said:

“It’s a strange one. I think there’s always that recency bias. When people retire, they age well. I would’ve been young but I remember watching Lennox Lewis, and I remember everyone was talking about Mike Tyson when Lewis was the man. 

“And then since he’s retired, he’s gone down as one of the best British fighters ever. We claim him certainly, even though he won a medal for Canada. One of the best heavyweights of all time. Effective, big, strong, great boxer, great jab. And when you do go back and watch him, you’re like, he was really good. He was very good. But I think in time to come, we will look back at Usyk and say, man, this guy was really good too.”

Groves discusses Oleksandr Usyk’s place among heavyweight greats

Talking about Oleksandr Usyk’s disadvantages at heavyweight:

“He gave away a lot of natural advantages in terms of his size against Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. And maybe, at the moment people are like, whoa, maybe Fury was overrated and maybe Joshua was overrated, so therefore Usyk’s achievements of beating them don’t quite count,” said Groves.

“But he’s pushing 40 now, Usyk. He’s been a pro for a fair amount of time. It’s a different era now. Heavyweights don’t have the amount of fights that Muhammad Ali had, that even Tyson had, Larry Holmes had. It doesn’t work like that. He beat what’s in front of him, comfortably. I think he will go down as one of the best heavyweights of all time,” added Groves.