Oleksandr Usyk has a new goal in mind for his legendary boxing career.
Usyk was last in action in May when he defended his unified heavyweight world titles with an 11th round stoppage win over kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven.
Despite the victory, it was an underwhelming display from the Ukrainian, prompting him to vacate his world titles and claim he was looking to pursuit one final fight in 2027.
It appears that he has now changed that plan though, after his advisor Sergey Lapin has revealed to Casinostugan a new two-fight plan that culminates in an undisputed cruiserweight title showdown with David Benavidez.
“Oleksandr aims to return to cruiserweight in 2027 and become undisputed again. First, we are looking at a fight for a vacant [IBF] world title. Then, the goal is to face David Benavidez to unify all the belts and become undisputed cruiserweight champion.”
Before becoming a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion, Usyk first earned undisputed status at cruiserweight, defeating the likes of Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev and Tony Bellew to become the king of the division.
That is an accomplishment that Benavidez is now trying to earn for himself, having stepped up to 200lbs and winning the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles with a sixth round stoppage win over Gilberto Ramirez.
‘The Mexican Monster’ looks to add another belt to his collection when he returns in December to face Michal Cieslak for the WBC cruiserweight title, before talk of a possible match-up with Jai Opetaia next year.
If that bout were to happen, it was expected it would have been for undisputed honours if Opetaia was able to recapture the IBF title he previously held, but with Usyk now eyeing that title himself, it could see him leapfrog the Australian for a clash with Benavidez.
