This attitude of Usyk’s has led to him fighting the best opponents, at both heavyweight and cruiserweight, within just 23 professional fights and often as the away fighter, having become accustomed to fighting opponents on their home turf. In some respects, he has had no choice (given the issues back home in Ukraine), but that still does not detract from how comfortable Usyk is in enemy territory. To date, he has beaten Anthony Joshua, Derek Chisora and Tony Bellew in England, Murat Gassiev in Russia, Mairis Briedis in Latvia, Marco Huck in Germany, Krzysztof Glowacki in Poland, and Michael Hunter in America. All would be considered excellent wins on neutral ground, yet the significance of that run is enhanced by the fact that Usyk allowed each of those opponents to have everything on their terms.
