First Things First
All of the combat sports action from this past week was overshadowed by one event. Boxing’s heavyweight title has been unified. Today we’re going to talk why this weekend’s result is the culmination of arguably the most impressive career in combat sports history.
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Table of Contents
Badder Than Anyone Before
In the late 80’s a teenager exploded out of Brooklyn to strike fear in the hearts of the masses. His style was impetuous. His defense? Impregnable. He was ferocious and he wanted your heart.
He was Mike Tyson, and speaking like that helped him live up to his title of “The Baddest Man On The Planet”.
The label was a selling point. A quick remark to add additional intrigue to everyone that heard his tirades. That intrigue yielded loyal viewers that worshiped his violence, propelling that teenager to stardom that extended beyond the square rings of rope where he traded the consciousness of other men for gold, glory, and a ticket to a better life.
Since the label was created many have tried to recycle it and the words have lost their luster. Fighters constantly claim they are the biggest, best, and baddest, but the sport of boxing is fragmented. Different groups all award different belts to their champion. That makes it hard for people to see and agree on who is the king.
Tyson was the first heavyweight to hold three separate major titles in the three belt era. Since he’s retired the sport has become even more fragmented.
In 2007 a fourth belt was introduced. In the seventeen years since the beginning of this era, no heavyweight has been able to unify these major titles. Consequently, no one really lived up to Tyson’s label as, ‘Baddest Man On The Planet’.
This weekend, Oleksandr Usyk flew to Saudi Arabia to fight Tyson Fury. A man that was reported to stand over him by six inches, and outweigh him by just under 30 pounds. Usyk went toe to toe with Fury for twelve rounds and took all of the titles home with him.
This win was bigger than another paycheck. To properly explain what this fight means for the history of the sport, and the world’s geopolitical landscape, I reached out to my friend Kyle that runs Combat Chronicles to discuss.