The landscape of boxing is dominated by the mountainous heavyweights who tower over the hardest game, wielding the massive blows which send seismic shudders through each other and voyeuristic tremors through blood-lusting crowds.
As the two mightiest of the present era stand aloft at this start of another massive fight week on Saudi Arabia’s desert plains, Tyson Fury at 6ft 9in remains the Everest of the ring despite his solitary career defeat by one of the lowest peaks in prize fighting’s utmost division.
Fury’s only conqueror Oleksandr Usyk, a standard bearer for Ukraine’s war against Russia, gives his height as 6ft 3in. That looks like as wishful a calculation as Mike Tyson claiming to be a six-footer in his prime, despite standing a mere 5ft 10 ½ in his sockless black boots.
The difference in altitude between Fury and Usyk approximates in boxing measure to Everest at 29,031 feet and the highest point of land in Ukraine, Mount Hoveria, at 6,726 feet.
Which makes Oleksandr The Cat’s over-throwing of the Gypsy King all the more valedictory and, now, this rematch for all but one of the world titles one of greater fascination.
Oleksandr Usyk (left) will face Tyson Fury on Saturday in a world heavyweight title rematch
Fury is seeking revenge after suffering his first-ever career defeat in May at the hands of Usyk
Not only that but of higher intrigue as the sands of world heavyweight domination are beginning to shift beneath the feet of the elders.
The third giant in his 30s, Anthony Joshua, had his 6ft 6in of muscle crushed to dust and his IBF title blown away by the 6ft 5in Daniel Dubois. There, in a blink of three knock-downs, went the first of the heavyweight belts into the fists of the twenty-somethings.
Usyk and Fury are fighting not only each other in the new capital city of boxing but also defending their generational dynasty against the march of Father Time. They can hold out for a while yet. Not least by juggling the fixtures to keep most of the baubles and many of the mega-million-bucks fights under their control.
If Fury gains revenge over Usyk, they will go on to a trilogy fight for the WBC, WBA, WBO, Ring Magazine and IBO titles. If he loses a second time there will be the enriching compensation of getting it on, at last, with Joshua in a battle for British bragging rights at a 90,000 sell-out Wembley Stadium.
If Usyk prevails in the Kingdom Arena this week, it might fall to him to try to stave off the next generation by going to war with the power-punching Dubois for the undisputed world championship. Unless another golden oldie, New Zealand’s rejuvenated former world champion Joseph Parker, does the job of defusing Dynamite Daniel for him in Riyadh on February 22.
Then again, even if Dubois is still rampant, it might not be him and Usyk next.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi Royal Family’s controller of the hundreds-of-million-dollars purses which are making boxing’s biggest fights happen at last, is fascinated by an alternate fantasy which would involve a comeback for an even older ex-champion.
‘This is the strange dream I’m having,’ says Alalshikh.’Of bringing back Wladimir Klitschko to give him the chance of becoming the oldest world heavyweight champion. That will be easier if Fury beats Usyk because I don’t think Wladimir would fight a brother Ukrainian.’
Anthony Joshua (bottom) will look to rebuild in 2025 after being badly beaten by Daniel Dubois
At 27, Dubois disrupted the dominance of the 30-somethings big three by winning a world belt
At the age of 48, Wladimir Klitschko had been contemplating a return to the ring over seven years on from his last fight – and was eyeing to face Dubois in February 2025
The fight is no longer being considered though in the wake of Mike Tyson (right) making a comeback at the age of 58 and losing to YouTuber Jake Paul last month
Curiouser and curiouser since Wladmir, the young brother of Vitali the Mayor of Kiyv, revealed that ambition a month ago only for His Excellency to veto his challenge to Dubois for the WBC title in Riyadh on February 22.
That followed Mike Tyson’s laboured comeback against YouTuber Jake Paul. Well, at least at 48 this Klitschko is 10 years young than Iron Mike, keeps in training and spurns the temptations of marijuana.
By all the above manoeuvres the senior sluggers can keep the young pretenders on hold for at least another year. Which may be just as well because with the exception of Dubois it is uncertain how many others are ready as yet for the step up to world class.
Martin Bakole – Congolese born and fighting out of Scotland – is a huge unit with a punch to match. But even at 31 he is light on experience and his only defeat so far came at the educated fists of natural cruiserweight Michael Hunter, by way of a 10-round schooling culminating in a stoppage.
Moses Itauma – Slovakian born, naturalised British and living in Kent – is catching the eye at 19 with his knock-out punch and sharp movement. But with his slender physique he is not yet a full-blown heavyweight.
Bakole still has time to learn the craft. Itauma can grow over the next 18 months. But would either of them unduly trouble Fury, Usyk or even Dubois at the moment? That is not a question we are likely to have answered any time soon.
The reigning praesidium appear to have a year at least to convince boxing that they represent a vintage era in heavyweight boxing, Usyk, having become the first undisputed champion of the four-belt at both cruiserweight and heavyweight is a Hall of Fame shoe-in. A knock-out of Fury would elevate him to the pantheon of all-time great heavyweights.
Whether his contemporaries, old or young, can help Usyk qualify this as a golden age for the ring’s marquee division is up for heated discussion.
Martin Bakole (left) is a huge unit with a punch to match but light on experience at 31-years-old
Moses Itauma (right) is catching the eye at 19 with his knock-out punch and sharp movement
Collectively they do not withstand comparison with the immortal times of Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton and Holmes who took on each other in epic battles without fear that a defeat might blemish their records. Dazzling the world as they did so.
Somewhere between the bookends of that generation and this Lewis, Holyfield, Tyson, Liston, Bowe and the brothers Klitschko touched the hem of the pantheon.
Today’s aspirants have work to do. Can Usyk haul them to the peak? Maybe, if he remembers as he goes against Fury a second time that Everest is no longer the most perilous mountain on earth to climb. More a tourist bucket list destination nowadays with its well trodden path to the summit littered with debris.
And that in the land of giants the smaller of them can be king.
