Did Oleksandr Usyk prove Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua were never the ‘generational heavyweights’ they were made out to be?

Oleksandr Usyk’s victories over Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have now prompted Simon Jordan to question their heavyweight credentials.

The British heavyweights are the two supreme talents to have emerged from UK shores in recent times, both having top level careers reigning as world champions.

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Now though, both have a common conqueror in Usyk, who is currently the leading fighter in the division.

As a result, talkSPORT presenter Jordan posed the question if Fury and Joshua were to be considered ‘heavyweight greats’ on the latest episode of talkBOXING.

He started: “Can I ask you boys a question about this idea that we’ve got these generational heavyweights.

“We talk about Oleksandr Usyk, and we’ve seen cruiserweight step up [to heavyweight] before in Evander Holyfield and to a lesser degree David Haye.

“We’ve talked about Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury as being great, great fighters.

“Is there a question to be asked and answered that they’re not as good as we think they are?

“Because I think if Oleksandr Usyk stepped up against Lennox Lewis, then Lennox Lewis would have ragdolled him.

“And I look at this generation of heavyweights and say, ‘Are they as good as we’ve made them out to be?’ I say, ‘Are Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury as good as we made them out to be?’

“Because Oleksandr Usyk can step up – despite his great footwork, despite the angles that he makes, despite the boxing IQ – and do the damage that he’s done to these so-called invincible or significant heavyweights.”

Pundit Spencer Oliver replied: “My answer to that is I think we do live in a good generation of heavyweights.

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“Tyson Fury could compete with all of the other eras, I believe that. Lennox Lewis is the standout for me, I think Lennox Lewis would be dominant over all of them.

“But what I’m saying is – I still think we live in a generation of heavyweights where they would be competitive with any other generation. I truly believe that.

“Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, they’re the big names of this generation right now. I think they could compete with any generation.”

Current heavyweight Frazer Clarke also had his say, adding: “It’s always difficult to say isn’t it, because it’s a dream fight, ‘What if?’ And we are never gonna know.

“What I will say is a lot of the top cruiserweights aren’t given enough credit when they do step up.

“Because as a heavyweight who’s been in the ring with a lot of cruiserweights in sparring over the years, I honestly believe it’s most difficult against a fairly hard punching, fast cruiserweight, than some big ponderous heavyweights.”

Fury and Joshua have hugely impressive résumés despite the defeats to Usyk, with the ‘Gypsy King’ having beaten Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder three times.

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AJ himself has an Olympic gold medal and a who’s who of top names on his professional record including Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz.

But Usyk has got the better of both British talents, outboxing them and even threatening to stop them.

Fury will have the chance to try and cement his name as the ‘top dog’ if he is able to avenge his defeat to ‘The Cat’ on December 21.

Joshua himself can become a three-time champion if he beats Daniel Dubois on September 21, and could well be in the line to face the winner of Fury’s second meeting with Usyk.

A trilogy between himself and the Ukrainian would see a seriously uphill battle for him to overturn the deficit.

Whereas a showdown between Fury and Joshua is likely to be the most clamoured for, given their history together.

The pair have come so close to meeting on several occasions, but the all-important clash has yet to materialise.

If the pair do battle, they could certainly put their name among heavyweight greats of past years such as Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, with the sport in a vastly different place now.

This could be a particularly big opportunity to do so if both get the job done, and can meet for all the marbles in 2025.