Oleksandr Usyk Beats Murat Gassiev by Unanimous Decision and Becomes the Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion!

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By Rich “Lite It Up” Lopez

Saturday in Moscow, Russia was the final in the Cruiserweight division of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) tournament and was a fight we were looking forward to. The tournament started last year and we came down to the two best fighters from that weight division. Murat Gassiev 26-0, 19 KO’s, of Vladikavkaz, Russia Vs Oleksandr Usyk 14-0, 11 KO’s of Kiev, Ukraine. The fight

was not only for the Muhammad Ali Trophy but for the undisputed championship with all titles on the line (WBA, IBF, WBC and WBO). Most importantly it was to decide who the best Cruiserweight fighter was. Also the vacant Ring Magazine championship was up for grabs as well.

As the fight got started, it was a good feel out round for both fighters. Usyk started off with a good right jab and was not letting Gassiev get in the inside. This continued in the second round as Usyk was landing his right jab well and using his speed. Gassiev did have little success when he threw three punches and was able to land a hard left to the body which got Usyk’s attention. The fight started to pick up in round three. Gassiev was getting a little closer and continued his work to the body with left hooks. Still Usyk was the busier of the two fighters. Round four would be the only round that Gassiev had huge success, but that was towards the end of the round. Gassiev landed a huge right hand at the end of the round that stunned Usyk. In the mid-rounds, Gassiev was applying pressure and landing body shots, but Usyk was using his distance very well. Every time Gassiev would land a good shot, Usyk would come back with nice combinations.

If you were looking to give Gassiev any round in the fight, it would have been the 5th or 6th round. After that it was all Usyk and he put on a boxing clinic. He was showing good footwork and he did a great job moving to his right to keep away from Gassiev’s power shots. Gassiev was throwing one punch at a time and could not cut off the ring against the elusive Usyk. As we got into the late rounds, Usyk was really letting his hands go. He was popping right jabs and left uppercuts to Gassiev. Gassiev had no answer and try to get in the inside but he was clearly frustrated. As the fight finished, Usyk closed the show and landed some nice combinations.

As the scorecards were read, Usyk won by unanimous decision by scores of 120-108, 119-109, and 119-109. It was a clear one sided victory for Usyk and he became the undisputed champion of all four major belts. The last undisputed champion at this weight class was Evander Holyfield back in 1988 when he held the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles. Usyk was then awarded the Muhammad Ali Trophy which was given to him by Lonnie Ali, who was the wife of the late Muhammad Ali. This was a great achievement by Usyk and he now joins the pound for pound rankings with fellow countrymen Vasyl Lomachenko. It would be interesting to see what Usyk does now with his career.

Will he move up to the heavyweight division for some other challenges? We shall see. For Gassiev, we should see him again soon as he is still a top fighter in the Cruiserweight division. Much respect to the WBSS for throwing these type of tournaments putting the best fighters against each other. We look forward to the final of the Super Middleweight division between George Groves and Callum Smith once that is announced. Also the WBSS just announced season two for the Super Lightweight and Bantamweight divisions. So we have more to look forward to in the coming months.

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