The question is a bit ambiguous: most meaningful victory? Fury 1: Best domination? AJ 1 or Gassiev. Most spiteful? Huck or Dubois 1
Good points but I also think Fury 1 because he showed he could fight through adversity Yes he had a close fight with breidis, but the fury fight looked to be getting away from him by the end of the 6th. He bit down on his gumshield and turned it around shortly after and that is a level of greatness
I would actually argue that his most meaningful win was Joshua. Prior to that, Usyk was widely considered just a Cruiserweight and many thought he had not earned a shot at heavyweight championship. But on that night, not only did he prove a lot of people wrong, he accomplished a lifelong goal of becoming a champion at Heavyweight. Olympic champion, Cruiserweight champion, and now Heavyweight champion. History was made that night, and a lifetime of hard work finally paid off. Fury is more meaningful on paper due to the undisputed championship, and Fury´s own accomplishments, but I bet Usyk himself too views the Joshua win as the more meaningful one.
Joshua and Fury are at about the same level of value. I consider Fury at his best to be the better boxer, but AJ has (up till lately) been more consistent.
It's clearly one or the other, for me. Fury was for undisputed, and was the more hyped, with claims to lineal (however devalued by inactivity, PEDs and joke performances against lesser fighters). Joshua brought more belts, better resume broadly speaking and arguably achievements (unified 3 belts himself, several good defences, etc) and really established Usyk as an elite heavyweight... And Joshua brought serious heavyweight power, which Fury didn't in the same way. Fury came slightly closer to winning, but it's relative - both were moderately competitive but clearly beaten, it's not like one was razor close and the other wasn't. The other point is... What does "best" really even mean - is Fury a better win because Usyk was more declined and that hurts his style? Or was Joshua a better win because he was closer to prime and it's (potentially) a good job Usyk was too?
The win over Mike Hunter has aged like a glass of milk left out in the August sun. At one point it was lauded as being a huge feather in his cap and now it doesn't even make a top ten to be a poll option.
I still think that was one of his better performances. Hunter had speed, power, and a bit of dog, and he had the fight beaten out of him after usyk adjusted near midway. Often we hear here that usyk hasn’t faced someone with his level of speed and agility. Think that would be a counter example.
I think Fury 2 or AJ 1. Fury 1 meant more on paper but Fury was not entirely right for that, you can't get concussed just 3-ish months before and not have punch resistance issues. Let's be real, no other 'brand' would have been put in the undisputed fight in that situation, no way Hearn wouldn't postpone it for AJ, because he's not an idiot like Warren. Fury and team were overconfident and also saving face after that disastrous mma fight, acting like it didn't impact them. Well, when was the last time any HW got rocked like that by a single Usyk LH? Also Fury was in control for a significant portion and hurt Usyk himself. For Fury 2, Fury was probably in a better position concussion wise even though he took damage in that first fight. Longer turn around though. It makes sense he wasn't badly hurt like the first, even though it depends on what lands too. Usyk beat him more comfortably and wasn't hurt himself and dominated for a stretch of the fight. So it was a better win. You can argue Fury had lost something after being defeated already, and was fatter. Still, I think the brain damage is more significant. AJ 1 is a contender for best win because even though Fury is better, AJ was the favourite in that matchup and Usyk was being overlooked at HW at the time, unproven. Hearn and AJ took the fight because they expected to win, make no mistake. Trainers were backing the SHW. Usyk was considered too small and light-hitting. He was up against it fighting in the UK. AJ hadn't lost for a while so was confident. It really was an excellent win. Love Joshie but would have been nice to see him unconscious on the canvas at the end, but wasn't to be. AJ just too tough in the chin.
In terms of the best guy that he beat, I think Briedis Obviously in a historical sense it's gotta be Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship, but Briedis (even though the fight was close) remains his best victory for me