How many fighters does Usyk have to beat to enter the best 10 HWs ever?

They're never allow it as he's Eastern European. The narrative is written by Muricans with all kinds of warped agendas.
As you can see, the only top HWs he can beat have already been classified as subpar fighters compared to the 'greats' of the past.
Fury/Wilder/Joshua are all considered lesser fighters in a weak era.
So it is not logically possible for Usyk to be a true great when you have to 'beat greats to be a great' and nobody is allowed to be a great. Beating HWs lower than Fury/Wilder/Joshua will be even lower status.
If Fury won't fight him, it will make it even worse to get his 'resume'.
He's also too old to rack up enough HW wins and defences.
He's better off just retiring with the stipulation he'll comeback to fight Fury.

 

Problem is that the heavyweight division is kind of sparse right now to achieve a top 10 rating. AJ is a great start, but who is left? Fury and Wilder? Zhang? Dubois? Eh ... slim pickings especially if somebody is nit picking. Fury = fat, unmotivated. Wilder = one dimensional. Zhang = old.

On the other hand if we are talking eye test, H2H and pure skills I could argue him into a lower top ten ranking right now and that won't change. I reckon he'd be a nightmare for most guys to face and that he'd likely clean up dudes like Louis with less fuss that you could believe.

 

Agree CW #1 for me too.

 

He's a bit late to do so many fights to enter even the top 20 HW. Has the chance just to leave great legacy if he beats 2-3 more top heavies. He'll be top cruiser and that's fair enough.

 

even if he beats everyone around, theyre still low quality wins. current crop really does suck donkey balls. hes the only complete fighter in the division.

 

H2H, he's already way up there. Remember; no heavyweight prior to the 90's fought or beat a southpaw above what was then Western Euro level, which means they barely (if ever) sparred southpaws too. And given how dangerous southpaw heavyweights have objectively proven to be, there's zero evidence that any of these old fighters with little to no southpaw experience could handle the GOAT southpaw heavyweight circa 2021. In the last 30 years, even top heavyweights with significant southpaw experience have lost (Holyfield, Vitali, Wlad) against or struggled (Wlad, Wilder, Fury) with inferior southpaws to Usyk at vastly inflated rates.

The only massive legacy opponents left for Usyk as it stands are Fury and Wilder. If Usyk were to beat both (let's say Fury also beats Ruiz and Wilder beats Joshua x2 prior to fighting Usyk) and then retire, I don't see how anyone could plausibly argue that he's not the best heavyweight of all time.

 

Fury and wilder would put him in the top twenty, IMO.

If he were to add Zhang, Hrgivoc and Joyce a lot of folks will say TOP TEN.

And if he further added Ruiz, Ortiz and Anderson. He could argue for top FiVE spot.

But I don't think he has eight fights left in him, so he needs to be judicious in choosing his opponents if he values legacy.

 

IMO, it has less to do with number of wins than the quality of the scalps.

 

You were doing ok up till this bit:

A hypothetical HW resume consisting of six fights against three ranked contenders over say, three years:

Witherspoon
Chisora
AJ
AJ.
Fury
Wilder

...elicits this piece of hyperbole:

I think some might be able to to muster a plausible argument there.

 

Well it kind of depends how you factor in his Cruiser career. He's an all time #1or 2 Cruiser weight and considering most heavyweights are can crushing for their first 20 fights or so would getting Fury, Wilder and Zhang not put him ahead of someone like Marciano?

 

In general to be considered in the top 10, you need to beat someone who is on par with the top 10 and therein lies the issue.

The general competition of today is too weak compared to the top 10. That has to do with heavies in general not fighting that often and the fact that there's just not a lot of good guys to go at it. In other words the conditions needed for Usyk to break into the top 10 just don't exist at the moment.

 

To beat Fury, then to repeat the same in the rematch. It would also be significant for this issue that an undisputed champion is obtained after a quarter of a century (after Lennox Lewis). Then (or before; the order doesn't matter) to beat Wilder, and do it again in the rematch. Thus, Oleksandr Usyk would become the absolute master of two categories. And finally, as the last fight of his career, to defeat the best heavyweight of the next generation (like Lennox Lewis; who is ATG 3-5 according to most), whoever it was at that time.
IMO that would be a TOP 10 scenario. That would be 5 more fights for Usyk (against 3 fighters), and throughout boxing history it would echo how Usyk is the undefeated, undisputed champion after a quarter of a century.

 

He’s only beaten three men at HW and two of the three were journeymen. He’s 36 yrs old. Not much he can do at this point I’d say.

 

Joe Louis is considered the second best by most...best overall by some. His best wins are Baer, Schmeling, and Walcott, none of whom are generally considered top ten.

Everything has context.