Why the Oleksandr Usyk pound for pound ranking at risk debate has surprisingly come up all of a sudden.
Usyk’s pound for pound ranking used to be as safe as houses but not lately.
Usyk is taking on a kickboxer later this month and is talking about even after that taking on an opponent from Germany no one asked for him to fight.
Some things to note here:
- Usyk is 24-0 with 15 KOs and holds WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles as of May 2026
- His next fight is vs Rico Verhoeven on May 23, 2026
- Sporting Life said choosing boxing novice Verhoeven for the WBC title caused a stir
- Verhoeven is 1-0 with 1 KO as a pro boxer and the bout is viewed as a crossover fight
- The article said Usyk gets a pass if he faces a top-five heavyweight after Verhoeven
- Usyk was No. 1 P4P per The Ring Ratings Panel in 2025
- SI’s May 2026 P4P list has Usyk at No. 1 after his KO win over Daniel Dubois
- The Ring now ranks Naoya Inoue No. 1 P4P, Usyk No. 2, Terence Crawford No. 3
- Usyk was 39 years old in May 2026 and has accomplished everything possible in boxing
- After Verhoeven, signs point to Usyk facing Agit Kabayel who is 27-0 with 19 KOs
Usyk is undefeated and usually fights the best.
He has gone a bit AWOL in 2026 though in this mentality and is looking just for easy fights all of a sudden that could diminish his legacy and his standing pound for pound and in boxing.
For now we have Usyk number two in the Boxing News and Views pound for pound rankings.
