Oleksandr Usyk appears to have held preliminary talks for a mega fight, which could present him with the opportunity to become a four-time undisputed king.
The Ukrainian comes off an 11th-round stoppage of former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven in May, when he defended his world titles with more difficulty than most had anticipated.
He then vacated those three belts the following month and announced that, at the age of 39, he is likely to have one more fight before calling time on his illustrious career.
For a while, that last dance seemed like it would be against former WBC champion Deontay Wilder, though the pair have now gone their separate ways and are exploring alternative opportunities.
One of which, for Usyk, could be a clash with David Benavidez, who became a three-division world champion by dethroning Gilberto Ramirez with a sixth-round stoppage in May.
Having claimed the WBO and WBA cruiserweight belts, the Mexican-American will now attempt to topple WBC champion Michal Cieslak on December 5.
The plan would then be for him to face Jai Opetaia on Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2027, though it remains to be seen whether that will be an undisputed title fight.
Either way, Benavidez has spoken with Fight Hub TV about the possibility of him facing Usyk at 200lbs rather than heavyweight.
“We have spoken to Usyk about [him] coming down to cruiserweight. It would be for undisputed, obviously.
“Right now, he has no belts at heavyweight. He’s the lineal champ, but there’s no belts; he let all the belts go. I think it would be a bigger fight [at 200lbs]. But we’ll see: if they want me to go up to heavyweight, I don’t give a f**k.”
For Benavidez to become the undisputed champion, he may need to defeat Opetaia, who could be reinstated as the IBF belt-holder if his lawsuit against the sanctioning body proves successful.
