Oleksandr Usyk had planned to face Deontay Wilder next, but another former world champion has revealed that he is in the running to fight the reigning and unified heavyweight ruler.
Usyk became a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion when he knocked out Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium to reclaim the IBF crown in his solitary outing of 2025, after vacating that belt the year prior.
Off the back of that win, some fans expected that Usyk would hang up the gloves, but the 39-year-old has instead revealed plans to fight on and has since vacated the WBO world title so that he can choose his next opponent.
Usyk made a shock call out to face Wilder next, but the former WBC champion now looks set to step into the ring against Derek Chisora.
With Usyk now looking for an opponent, former unified heavyweight world champion Andy Ruiz Jr told Oblivion, on a Kick stream, that he also received a phone call from Usyk’s team regarding a potential shot at returning to the throne.
“I want to be champion again. It’s funny because one of his people contacted me and my team saying that they are willing to fight me. It was either going to be me, Wilder or two other guys that they called.”
Ruiz claimed the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles back in June 2019 with a shock win over Anthony Joshua, but lost the belts in their rematch six months later. The Mexican-American has competed three times since then, with his last bout coming in August 2024 which saw him claim a controversial draw again Jarrell Miller after damaging his hand early in the fight.
