Oleksandr Usyk has been given a strict deadline, urged to either pursue a fight with his mandatory challenger or vacate one of his three world heavyweight titles.
The 39-year-old came through a tougher-than-expected assignment last Saturday, managing to retain his WBC, IBF and WBA belts with an 11th-round stoppage over Rico Verhoeven.
While the performance was below his typically lofty standards, Usyk nonetheless showed his winning mentality by flooring the Dutch kickboxer with a whipping uppercut.
Having given a terrific account of himself, Verhoeven regained his footing and appeared to be weathering the storm, only for referee Mark Lyson to wave him off on the bell.
Both combatants were then joined in the ring by WBC ‘interim’ champion Agit Kabayel, who rightly demanded a shot at the champion.
The 33-year-old has held his ‘interim’ belt since February 2025, back when he stopped Zhilei Zhang with a ferocious body attack in round six.
He then staged a homecoming show in Germany with help from Queensberry promoter Frank Warren, who has been particularly adamant that Kabayel must fight for the full WBC title in his next outing.
The German contender has told talkSPORT, meanwhile, that he firmly believes the champion will vacate the WBC belt and swerve their potential clash.
“To be honest, I think Oleksandr will vacate. I think Frank is talking about [the fight] with Usyk’s team, and we will wait one week.
“I think we have one week to see if Usyk says anything, after that we will see what [happens].
“But my opinion is that Usyk will not want to make the fight for me. I want to fight with Usyk.”
If Usyk relinquishes the WBC title, and allows Kabayel to be elevated or fight for a vacant belt, then a rematch with Verhoeven would surely represent the Ukrainian’s next best option.
