Oleksandr Usyk and The Dark Knight

It’s been nine long years since Tyson Fury burst into a press conference for his fight with Wladimir Klitschko dressed as Batman. The world, and the boxing world, has changed a lot since then. In the 2008 movie The Dark Knight, James Gordon tells his son that Batman is, “the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.”

The city of Gotham was rife with corruption and villains, much like the sport of boxing. It seems to me that in many ways, Tyson Fury is probably the champion that boxing deserves, but not the one it needs right now.

That man is Oleksandr Usyk.

Last night in Saudi Arabia, Usyk scored his second win over Fury. Both wins were perhaps close, but for me, not contentious. Usyk has proved his superiority over Fury over 24 rounds, the same way he did with Anthony Joshua. Daniel DuBois showed a lack of class by entering the ring, post-fight, to demand his own rematch with the Ukrainian. Despite his impressive recent results, DuBois will just be another British heavyweight to go 0-2 with Usyk if the two meet again in the near future.

Usyk is a remarkable man, fighter and champion. His stellar amateur career was capped off by Olympic Gold in London in 2012. Since then, as a professional, he first dominated the cruiserweight division, before moving up to heavyweight to do the same in the land of the giants. He is a boxing superstar who does not need to be fluent in English. By and large, he does his talking in the ring, but his engaging personality transcends any language barriers. If a social media clip of Usyk goes viral, it will likely be because of his juggling skills or dance moves, rather than a foul-mouthed rant belittling a prospective opponent. If you love boxing, you have to admire the way he is able to negate the supposed physical advantages of his much bigger opponents. Just because you have several inches of height and reach on him, does not mean you are safe. He will find you. As he told Fury, “Don’t worry, I will never leave you alone.”

Tyson Fury might find that also applies to the nightmares he will have about the 24 rounds that they have now shared.

At 37 years of age, Usyk remarkably shows no signs of wear and tear, but 48 rounds with Joshua and Fury must be taking their toll on his body. While his spirit seems unbreakable, even the very greatest of fighters are subject to the laws of aging. I would be happy to see him leave the stage at this point, despite his performances being as close to pugilistic works of art as one can find in the sport today.

If Tyson Fury were to never fight again, I would be even happier. His win over Klitschko and the trilogy with Deontay Wilder will live long in the memory. Most of the biggest men in heavyweight history have been blessed with strength and power but cursed by a lack of speed, frequently appearing cumbersome. That was not the case with Fury in his pomp. For the most part, he was able to maximise his remarkable physical advantages supplemented by the addition of fast hands, good legs, a good engine and exceptional recuperative powers.

Fury’s struggles with his mental health are well documented and he deserves enormous credit for finding the strength within to pull himself back from the brink.

But his misdemeanours can not be overlooked. Tyson Fury represents an era in boxing where positive tests for Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) are increasingly common. Fury, Conor Benn and Ryan Garcia are the poster boys for this shameful situation. No fighter ever seems to know how the prohibited substance entered their system and access to expensive lawyers offers the chance to bypass the entire judicial process. It also seems to help if the head of a sanctioning body is a friend of the family. There is also the option of a rebrand as a villain and then come back after a short hiatus with a greater market value than before you pissed dirty in the cup. The administrators of the sport appear incapable or unwilling to adequately address the issue. Much of the boxing media is happy to play along, fearful of being denied access if they dare to ask awkward questions or report uncomfortable truths.

Was Tyson Fury ever even the best heavyweight in the UK? Most people think he was, but he never proved it. Both he and Joshua are on the downsides now of their respective careers and it is a blight on both their records that they never met when it really mattered. The flood of seemingly unlimited Saudi money came too late for that. If they meet now, it will just demonstrate which man has degraded the least.

Fury has been the heavyweight champion that boxing deserved in the sense that he represented many of the sport’s ills. The infiltration of Irish gangsters, positive drug tests, endless futile negotiations conducted on social media, overuse of foul and abusive language, the welcoming of open arms of Saudi sportswashing. He may not be to blame for all of this, but it is hard to separate Fury from much of the toxicity of modern boxing.

While Oleksandr Usyk may not be immune to all of the above, he can seem like a heavyweight champion from another time. A time when dignity mattered. A time when being a champion was about more than just the collection of cheap title belts. Usyk’s reign as world heavyweight champion will likely be just a temporary respite from an inescapable decline in the standards of the sport; like a brief armistice offering hope in an increasingly bloody conflict. But right now, Oleksandr Usyk is the heavyweight champion that boxing needs.