Why I fear Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury could be boxing’s last truly great fight, writes JEFF POWELL

Boxing’s landscape is dominated by the mountainous heavyweights who tower over the toughest game and wield the enormous blows that send seismic shivers through each other and voyeuristic thrills through the bloodthirsty crowd.

As the two most powerful of the current era stand in the air at the start of another huge fight week on the desert plains of Saudi Arabia, Tyson Fury remains the Everest of the ring at 6 feet tall, despite his solitary defeat of his career against one of the lowest peaks in the highest prizefights. division.

Fury’s only conqueror Oleksandr Usyk, a standard bearer of the Ukrainian war against Russia, lists his height as 1.80 meters. That seems as wishful a calculation as Mike Tyson claiming to be 6-foot-4 in his prime, despite being only 6-foot-4 in his sockless black boots.

The height difference between Fury and Usyk approaches Everest in terms of boxing size at 29,031 feet and the country’s highest point in Ukraine, Mount Hoveria, at 6,726 feet.

That makes the overthrow of the Gypsy King by Oleksandr The Cat all the more valedictory, and now this rematch for all but one of the world titles is one of greater fascination.

Fury is looking for revenge after suffering his first-ever career defeat at the hands of Usyk in May

Not only that, but of greater intrigue as the sands of world domination begin to shift beneath the feet of the elders.

The third giant in his 30s, Anthony Joshua, had his 6-foot-10 muscles crushed into dust and his IBF title blown away by the 6-foot-1 Daniel Dubois. There, in the blink of three knockdowns, the first of the heavyweight belts went into the fists of the twenty-somethings.

Usyk and Fury will not only battle each other in boxing’s new capital, but also defend their generational dynasty against the advance of Father Time. They can hold on for a while. Not least by juggling the fixtures to control most of the trinkets and many of the mega-million dollar battles.

If Fury gets revenge on Usyk, they will move on to a trilogy fight for the WBC, WBA, WBO, Ring Magazine and IBO titles. If he loses for a second time, there will be enriching compensation when he can finally face Joshua in a battle for British bragging rights at a 90,000 sellout Wembley Stadium.

If Usyk gains the upper hand at the Kingdom Arena this week, it could be up to him to try to stave off the next generation by going to war with the power-hungry Dubois for the undisputed world championship. Unless another golden oldie, the rejuvenated former world champion from New Zealand, Joseph Parker, takes on the task of disarming Dynamite Daniel on February 22 in Riyadh.

Then again, even if Dubois still reigns supreme, he and Usyk might not be next.

His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, the custodian of the hundreds of millions of dollars in purses that are finally bringing boxing’s biggest fights to the Saudi royal family, is fascinated by an alternative fantasy that would involve a comeback for an even older ex-champion.

“This is the strange dream I have,” says Alalshikh. ‘Bring back Vladimir Klitschko to give him the chance to become the oldest heavyweight champion of the world. That will be easier if Fury beats Usyk because I don’t think Wladimir would fight a Ukrainian brother.”

Anthony Joshua (below) will look to rebuild in 2025 after being badly beaten by Daniel Dubois

At the age of 27, Dubois disrupted the dominance of the big three of thirty by winning a world title

At the age of 48, Wladimir Klitschko was considering a return to the ring, more than seven years after his last fight – and was looking forward to facing Dubois in February 2025.

However, the fight is no longer being considered after Mike Tyson (right) made a comeback at the age of 58, losing to YouTuber Jake Paul last month.

Curiouser and more curious 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 difficult comeback against YouTuber Jake Paul. Well, at 48, this Klitschko is at least ten years younger than Iron Mike, continues to train and rejects the temptations of marijuana.

All of the above maneuvers will allow the senior sluggers to keep the young pretenders in line for at least another year. That may be a good thing, because, with the exception of Dubois, it is uncertain how many others are still ready for the step to world class.

Martin Bakole – born in Congo and living in Scotland – is a huge unit with a punch to match. But even at 31, he has little experience and his only defeat to date came against the trained fists of natural cruiserweight Michael Hunter, via a 10-round schooling that culminated in a stoppage.

Moses Itauma – born in Slovakia, naturalized British and living in Kent – ​​stands out at the age of 19 with his knockout punch and sharp movement. But with his slim physique he is not yet a full-fledged heavyweight.

Bakole still has time to learn the trade. Itauma can grow over the next 18 months. But would either of them unnecessarily bother Fury, Usyk or even Dubois at this point? That’s not a question we’re likely to have answered anytime soon.

The ruling praesidium appears to have at least a year to convince boxing that they represent a vintage era in heavyweight boxing. Usyk, who has become the first undisputed four-belt champion at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, is a Hall of Fame shoe-in. A knockout of Fury would elevate him to the pantheon of all-time great heavyweights.

Whether his contemporaries, old or young, can help Usyk qualify this era as a golden age for the ring’s major division is up for debate.

Collectively, they cannot withstand comparison to the immortal times of Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton and Holmes who faced off in epic battles without fear that defeat could tarnish their records. As they did so, they dazzled the world.

Somewhere between the bookends of that generation and this one, Lewis, Holyfield, Tyson, Liston, Bowe and the Klitschko brothers touched the hem of the pantheon.

Today’s aspirants have work to do. Can Usyk take them to the top? Maybe, if he remembers that as he goes against Fury for the second time, Everest is no longer the most dangerous mountain on earth to climb. More of a bucket list tourist destination these days, with its well-trodden path to the top littered with rubble.

And that in the land of the giants the smallest can be king.