An unbeaten world champion has said he would move up to heavyweight and challenge Oleksandr Usyk in an audacious attempt to define his legacy.
Despite being at the tail-end of his illustrious career, Usyk is still widely regarded as the pound-for-pound No.1, given his accolades between cruiser and heavyweight.
Even in his last outing, a rematch with Daniel Dubois, the Ukrainian showed no signs of regression as he ruthlessly dispatched the ferocious puncher inside five rounds.
But now, after becoming a three-time, two division undisputed champion last July, the 39-year-old will defend his WBC title against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23.
Should he triumph over Verhoeven, as most expect him to, then Usyk has promised to enter two further fights before finally hanging up his gloves.
Neither of which are expected to be against David Benavidez, but the WBC world light-heavyweight champion has nonetheless thrown his hat into the ring.
First of all, the 29-year-old must complete his assignment against Gilberto Ramirez, who he will challenge for the unified world cruiserweight crown on May 2.
Should he emerge victorious, then Benavidez has not ruled out a future showdown with Usyk, telling Come And Talk 2 Me that he hopes they can eventually collide at heavyweight.
“I’m going up to cruiserweight – maybe one day we can get a fight with Usyk [at heavyweight].
“I would love that, and I’d definitely be up for that task.”
While Benavidez could eventually move up to heavyweight, he is unlikely to do so in the near future, especially if an opportunity to face Dmitry Bivol in an undisputed clash at 175lbs comes knocking.
This, in turn, would lead to Usyk retiring before Benavidez can even initiate negotiations for their potential encounter.
