I must admit I was a bit late in coming around to Usyk at first. I always considered him just a blown-up cruiser, who would surely get overwhelmed by the huge behemoths we have at heavyweight today. Man... I couldn't have been more wrong. All he's done is beat the top names in the division... twice.

I actually like Usyk a lot. He's a welcome reprieve from the blustering, media attention-seeking types that seem to overpopulate boxing these days. He just goes about his business... and lets his fists do the talking for him. His demolition of Dubois was startling. I know many here have never rated Dubois much, but that was still a spectacularly one-sided affair. Now... I know that sometimes much is made of the southpaw vs righty thing. But I honestly thought Dubois was totally confused and unprepared for those huge, lightning quick lefts he kept getting strafed with. You could see it was only a matter of time.

Usyk has proven pretty rugged and durable, too. To go 12 rounds (twice) with that mass of humanity named Tyson Fury, when you're giving away that much size, is remarkable. Especially considering that Fury is pretty crafty in using his bodyweight to wear down his opponents.

Regarding his place among the all-time greats, I suppose he's earned a seat at the table. I'm not sure I'd be so quick to anoint him as GOAT or TBE at heavyweight. But I wouldn't blame others who might want to include him in that conversation.