Oleksandr Usyk had been in talks to face a former world heavyweight champion, only for a prolonged spell of negotiations to ultimately scupper their showdown.
The three-time, two-division undisputed king has not fought since his fifth-round finish of Daniel Dubois last July, which followed his two points victories over Tyson Fury in 2024.
Having claimed those two scalps, as well as beating Anthony Joshua on two occasions, Usyk has firmly cemented himself as the greatest heavyweight and cruiserweight of his generation.
One man who had hoped to challenge that status, however, is Deontay Wilder, who was named by Usyk as a desirable opponent towards the end of last year.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ comes off a stoppage victory over little-known heavyweight Tyrrell Herndon in June, which followed his defeats against Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker.
His fifth-round stoppage loss to Zhang, in particular, left a sizable impression on the division in 2024, with many calling for the former WBC champion to retire.
But since then, Wilder has managed to secure a showdown with fellow veteran Derek Chisora at London’s O2 Arena on April 4.
This came about after the American’s talks with Usyk, who he was expected to face later this year, had collapsed at the negotiating table.
Speaking with Fight Hub TV, Wilder explained why, instead of challenging for the WBC, IBF and WBA belts, he is now facing Chisora in a non-title fight.
“Me and Derek had been working on a fight for a very long time. Actually, this fight was supposed to have happened back in December.
With the Usyk situation, it was like, ‘I’m 40 years old; I’m ready to go. I can’t sit back; I can’t sit around.’
I don’t think they [team Usyk] had a set date, a place where they wanted to go – that was still lingering around.
The clock goes like this – it’s tick-tocking.”
Perhaps a clash between Usyk and Wilder could soon be revisited, but only if the 40-year-old successfully takes care of Chisora in April.
