‘All-time great’ Usyk has blown up a decade-long heavyweight circus. So how does it end?

After 25 long and chaotic years, boxing’s heavyweight division finally has an undisputed king again.

Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury in a classic battle on Sunday to become the first man since Lennox Lewis to hold all of the division’s belts. And while his undisputed reign may officially only last weeks — amid reports the IBF title will be vacated — the victory may be the one that ultimately defines what has been a chaotic, and at times, confusing, era for heavyweight boxing.

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Despite holding just one of the five major title belts, the previously-unbeaten Fury had long been seen as the premier heavyweight of this generation, largely down to his two victories and draw with American Deontay Wilder, who started that legendary trilogy with a record of 40-0.

That both Fury and Wilder have never faced Anthony Joshua — the other true ‘heavyweight’ of this heavyweight era who held four title belts before successive losses to Usyk — sums up the decade-plus-long circus of the weight class.

It took an unassuming, and somewhat unexpected, assassin in Usyk to come in and trump the careers of all of his contemporaries — with his legacy now secured, and a likely rematch against Fury in October offering the chance to add an exclamation mark.

The 37-year-old Ukrainian was still fighting at cruiserweight — unifying belts at that weight class too — when Fury, Wilder and Joshua really began jostling for heavyweight supremacy late last decade. He can now legitimately claim to be not only best of this heavyweight era but one of the greatest boxers in history, according to many.

Barney Ronay, writing for The Guardian, said Usyk now stood as “the greatest boxer of the modern age” after the victory over Fury.

“This (becoming undisputed champion) is the summit, that place where the dirt, squalor, politics and greed of boxing gives way to the purity of its collisions,” Roney wrote.

“Undisputed at two weights. Olympic gold medallist. Unified heavyweight champion after five years spent cutting down men three inches taller and three stones heavier. After Saturday night maybe Usyk is also the Gypsy King too.

“He has a pretty convincing case to be called the greatest of all time, at least in so far as such comparisons have any real meaning.”

Jacob Tanswell, writing for The Athletic, agreed Usyk’s greatness had now “extended into new territory”

“Usyk insists winning 2012 Olympic gold is the apex of his career — and crowned a stellar time as an amateur — but what transpired in Riyadh will likely prove his legacy-defining win.,” Tanswell wrote.

“The Ukrainian has elevated himself into the pantheon of all-time greats. All of his championship wins across the two divisions have been away from home, often on enemy territory and against the backdrop of adversity; against home-city favourites and ostensibly intimidating atmospheres.

“... Winning boxing’s greatest prize and one the most eminent titles in sport deserves its seminal moment. Usyk was already an all-time great at cruiserweight but will now be regarded among the best to have ever boxed, at any weight and in any era.”

Fury’s defeat has posted big questions about his legacy and future. Although two years Usyk’s junior, the Englishman’s well-publicised mental heath battles, and the punishment taken in 36 fights, surely take a toll.

“The years have been hard. Having a great chin is a vital quality. Having a great chin also means you get hit a lot,” Ronay wrote.

“Coming back from depression and booze, gaining and then losing 10st (the equivalent of losing an entire adult Lionel Messi) are evidence of his will.

“But these things all take a bite out of you. Fury made an estimated £80m ($A150m) in Riyadh’s Ring of Fire. It would be most sensible to retire now. But then, what has sensible ever had to do with it?”

Gareth A Davies, writing for the UK Telegraph, wrote that Fury would “have a long, hard think about his future” and may even contemplate retirement.

However he expects he will ultimately take the rematch, knowing it will offer the opportunity to shift the narrative Usyk has built.

“If Fury can win a second meeting – and there were three swing rounds in this fight which could have gone either way – the Briton would unify at least three of the belts, and his legacy as the leading heavyweight could be secured again.” Davies wrote.

“Fury camp insiders told me that pots of gold are no longer important, and this may sway Fury, but his pride as a fighting man in my view will draw him back for a second encounter with ‘the Cat’.”

Daves said Usyk’s win had put him “into the pantheon of the greats” and put Joshua’s two defeats by Usyk into a different perspective” — while also coming as a serious blow to hopes of staging the long-awaited, all-English battle between Joshua and Fury.

“What this contest has also done is to rubber stamp the era, with at least one of the two fights between Usyk and Fury complete. It was an epic, absorbing, thrilling contest, befitting of the first undisputed fight in the blue riband division for a quarter of a century,” Davies wrote.

“But a cloud hangs over the all-British clash we have desired for so long. If anything, the Fury-Joshua fight has moved further away after this outcome, and there are those close to Fury who believe that one more fight ought to be enough after hard fights with Deontay Wilder, Francis Ngannou and Usyk.

“Time waits for no man and Fury’s devoted camp, and his family, will urge the heavyweight to not go on too long.

“The next 12 to 18 months will be the end of an era. Usyk, Fury, Wilder and Joshua are all well into their 30s. There is no clear leader emerging after them, not any time soon, with 19-year-old Briton Moses Itauma, who was on Saturday night’s card, needing a year or two to become one of the standard bearers.

“Saturday night was a very important moment for the division, because it was No 1 versus No 2, and right now, Usyk is the king. Time will tell if the Ukrainian remains there.”