Oleksandr Usyk says Rico Verhoeven was the toughest opponent of his Boxing career

Yeah, he does appear to be a very articulate and intelligent man. From what I understand, he's also an entrepreneur/investor in several businesses and farms.

The Klitschko brothers also hold degrees in Sports Science and Social Development Management.

 

He was taking it easy on purpose and giving viewers their money’s worth

 

Most boxers also say someone was the toughest, hit the hardest, etc., that they beat. Understandable with the pride of a fighter, but opinions very much may vary.

 

What? Bachelor sports, master psychology, doctor philosophy? That's a bit crazy.

 

Not sure what people see wrong with him saying that?
Rico may well have been his toughest fight. Styles make fights and Rico is a tough strong professional athlete.

I see some on here don't understand that styles make fights.

 

I think it's still Mairis Briedis, because Usyk was on his prime when he meet the Latvian Legend.

 

I always thought Usyk's ego got the better of him a bit in that fight. I think he knew how good Briedis was and wanted to go in there and have a war. This is a guy who, at Cruiserweight, was moving around guys almost as quickly/fluidly as Ali. Yet when he fought Briedis he stood right in front of him and banged it out. Just compare how he fought Briedis to how he fought Gassiev. Obviously you'd want to be more circumspect against a puncher like Gassiev, but it's night and day.

 

Usyk tried moving early on vs Bredis. Breidis cut the ring well and landed his right hand at will. Usyk had to start planting his feet and landing hard shots to win. Had he tried boxing off the back foot, he would have lost. Gassiev has no ring cutting ability. Breidis does.