Tony Bellew vs Oleksandr Usyk: A dominant win by a dominant colossus with sights on the biggest and best

The undefeated Ukranian looked every bit the pound-for-pound king of boxing as he plans a move to heavyweight with targets set on Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder

In just the 10th professional fight of his boxing career, Oleksandr Usyk beat Krzysztof Glowacki to win the WBO cruiserweight title. His rise since then has been almost unstoppable, defending the belt successfully twice before doing so for a third time when he entered the World Boxing Super Series. He would then go on to add the WBC strap to his ranks in the semi-final of the competition, before becoming the only man in the division's history to hold all four major championship titles at the same time, beating Murat Gassiev to assert his dominance as arguably the greatest fighter the cruiserweight ranks have ever seen.

He could have stopped there and settled his position as the greatest – perhaps excluding Evander Holyfield – but one man was ringing in his brain, one man was on his mind as soon as he defeated Gassiev. "I have heard that Tony Bellew wants to fight the winner of the Muhammad Ali Trophy. I hope he will see me talking... 'hey Tony Bellew, are you ready?'

"If he doesn't want to go down, I will go up for him. I will eat more spaghetti for my dinner!"

Bellew answered the call and made almost everyone believe just that little bit that he could do it. Beat the man that no one could beat. Usyk would of course go on to stop Bellew in the eighth round with a devastating finish, too brave from the boy who grew up with nothing, too classy from the man with all the marbles.

Usyk may well take a break for close to half a year, but it won't be long before he's hungry again - and on the menu this time around will be the 6fit 6in delights of Anthony Joshua. "I'll have extra pasta for dinner now," the Ukrainian said almost immediately after what is likely his final victory at cruiserweight. Before getting onto his main course, Usyk will have to peruse the entrée list - with the likes of Dillian Whyte, Dereck Chisora, Alexander Povetkin and Joseph Parker all stand-out choices.

Is a rise up to the heavyweight division actually a realistic prospect, though? In a word, yes. And then some. Usyk is comfortably one of the world's best fighters, arguably the best after the performance in Manchester on Saturday night, and everyone is beginning to recognise it. Promoter Eddie Hearn said that Usyk was comfortably the '2018 fighter of the year' after all that he achieved. It had been previously revealed that the only man to really trouble Joshua in his career, Wladimir Klitschko, was forced to remove Usyk from a sparring session in front of the media because he was running rings around the man who dominated boxing's top division for over 10 years, so the thought of the 31-year-old making the step up and possibly taking over from the likes of Joshua and Deontay Wilder is one that people will have to get used to.

Oleksandr Usyk finished the fight with a powerful left hook (Getty)

Usyk's step up to the division will be a natural one, but it must remain steady. He caught a number of Bellew's best punches and took them with a smile, but once it turns into the punch of a 6ft 8in monster, it's a different game. Looking beyond Bellew might not have been the smartest thing to do and Usyk is not only intelligent inside the ring but out of it too, but when you're simply as talented as him - and have had the number of fights he has had - you can't fault the ambition or the want to beat everyone you already believe you're capable of beating.

The Ukrainian will almost always be more talented than whoever he faces in the ring, it's just about using all the skills in his possession and avoiding Joshua, Wilder, Whyte and other big hitters in the heavyweight division landing that uppercut or that left hook.

Usyk looks every bit the pound-for-pound king of boxing (Getty)

“I tried my best and I gave it everything, but Usyk is a great, great champion,” Bellew said immediately after defeat. “He beat me fair and square and I have no excuses. He is the greatest man I have ever shared a ring with and only the very best and very greatest will find a way to beat him.” How many times are we going to hear this between now and the time Usyk finally decides to call it a day? An honest person's guess would be plenty.

Usyk's ability to hop, skip and dance around the ring, close it off so his opponents cannot move a step, compose himself and rise up to the occasion is now undoubted. His relaxed demeanour and quirky personality make him someone you cannot take your eye off, and once he does embark on his battle into the heavyweight division, Joshua and Co will have a whole new threat to be concerned about, a threat they may not have seen coming and one they may not be able to handle.