No one could match Oleksandr Usyk for Fighter of the Year contention in 2024. The 37-year-old Ukrainian entered the year as arguably the best fighter in the world, a lock for the Hall of Fame and a boxing legend. He exits 2024 with his legacy in even better shape.

Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) was scheduled to defend his IBF, WBA, WBO, and Ring Magazine championships against division number one and WBC counterpart Tyson Fury on February 17 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, just days away from the fight, “The Gypsy King” sustained a terrible cut in sparring and the most eagerly anticipated heavyweight title fight in decades was postponed.

As the boxing world convalesced, a new date of May 18 was soon made official and the hype machine got underway. Usyk, a southpaw, had used superlative ring IQ, speed, and skill to bedevil Anthony Joshua twice. Meanwhile, Fury had scored a pair of convincing knockout wins over feared American power puncher Deontay Wilder to prevail in an epic trilogy. Fury vs. Usyk was a matchup between the two best heavyweights in the world.

The heavyweight champion has returned to Ukraine, where he was welcomed by the country’s president. He had a video call with one of the great legends of action cinema

Oleksandr Usyk has already returned to Ukraine, where he spent New Year’s Eve in the company of various personalities from his country. After defeating Tyson Fury for the second time on December 21, the heavyweight king returned to his homeland as a true hero. On the last day of 2024, he was welcomed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who expressed on social media: “December 31. Welcome home, champion. We are proud of you!”

Shortly afterwards, it was the boxer himself who published his own New Year’s message, especially dedicated to his compatriots. “Last year we all had to face battles and victories, but I am sure that our greatest triumph is yet to come. For the new year I wish you all faith in God, in miracles, in yourselves and in your strength. Believe that light will always overcome darkness,” said ‘The Cat’, who added: “I wish you unity, tolerance and love for your neighbour. Let us argue less and unite more, supporting each other and those in need.”

While it’s often good advice not to follow the crowd, sometimes the crowd is on to something. That’s certainly the case this year, as heavyweight kingpin Oleksandr Usyk is almost universally being trumpeted as the premier professional boxer of 2024. There used to be a saying in Hollywood that script readers primarily look for reasons to reject a screenplay rather than to pass it along to higher ups. The same could frankly be said of boxing fans and journalists, many if not most of whom see the figurative glass as being half empty by default. Usyk, however, has come about as far as a fighter can to having a perfect year.

The truth is that no one out there has accomplished what Usyk has during these past twelve months. The man became undispute heavyweight champion of the world, after all, a feat which hadn’t been accomplished in decades, never mind years. What’s more, Usyk won his crown by defeating Tyson Fury, the man who it could be rightly argued is the second best heavyweight in the world. Usyk then went on to best Fury a second time just before Christmas. Make no mistake about it, Usyk is Boxing Insider’s 2024 Fighter Of The Year for good reason.

Most who are honest would probably admit they never saw Usyk emerging as king of the super sized post-Klitschko heavyweight era. It was supposed to be a three way contest between Fury, fellow Englishman Anthony Joshua, and American Deontay Wilder. Yet, as is often the case in boxing, the unexpected happened.