Oleksandr Usyk has recently announced plans to return to cruiserweight and take on David Benavidez, and two-weight world champion Tim Bradley has made his prediction for the fight.
Usyk relinquished his three heavyweight world titles following a below-par showing against Rico Verhoeven back in May, declaring that he will have one more ‘farewell fight’ before retiring from the sport.
Since then, the Ukrainian had been expected to take on Deontay Wilder in his career finale, but negotiations then collapsed and ‘The Bronze Bomber’ has instead been confirmed for a clash with Jai Opetaia on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua card next month.
Team Usyk have now announced that they are seeking a shot at Benavidez in a shock return to the cruiserweight division. On the Into The Storm podcast, Bradley explained why he fully expects Benavidez to convincingly defeat the undefeated 39-year-old.
“The first thing I thought was that Benavidez is going to beat the brakes off of Usyk. It might sound crazy.
“However, it doesn’t sound crazy to me because I feel like Usyk coming up to heavyweight and gaining 25lbs of muscle, then tearing that back down, at 39 years old, that is going to have an effect on him. It is going to have a huge effect on him, man.”
Bradley even believes ‘The Mexican Monster’ could defeat Usyk inside of the distance.
“You have got one guy coming down and getting weaker and taking from himself, an older guy in Usyk, even how great he is. Then, you have the younger guy coming up and he is gaining more and more momentum and gaining more confidence.
“Right out the gate, put a gun to my head, I am going to say Benavidez – maybe even by stoppage.”
Before a fight with Usyk can be properly discussed, Benavidez will return to action on Saturday, December 5, in a three-belt unification bout against reigning WBC cruiserweight titleholder Michal Cieslak.
