Tyson Fury has assessed whether Oleksandr Usyk is likely to drop back down to 200lbs and fight David Benavidez, as per his latest comments.
The Ukrainian has not fought since May, when he secured a tougher-than-expected 11th-round stoppage of former kickboxer Rico Verhoeven while weighing a career-heaviest of 233lbs.
He then announced, shortly after, that he would be relinquishing his WBC, IBF and WBA titles ahead of his final fight, which initially looked set to be against Deontay Wilder.
Since then, though, the two heavyweights have gone their separate ways and Usyk, most recently, has teased a move back down to cruiserweight.
The 39-year-old did so on the DAZN broadcast for Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli last Saturday, with his advisor, Sergey Lapin, having already told several media outlets that he is targeting a clash with Benavidez.
Not only that, but Usyk seemingly hopes to meet the unified champion in an undisputed fight, while Fury – who he twice outpointed in 2024 – appears sceptical about his former opponent’s plan to re-join the 200lb division.
Speaking with Michelle Joy Phelps, Fury shared his opinion that this, let alone a Benavidez showdown, is unlikely to actually happen.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen. If it’s not [against] me, then Oleksandr Usyk won’t be fighting again.
“He just wants a big payday, and I’m the man to give him that. I can’t see him dropping down [to 200lbs] to fight Benavidez, and I can’t see him fighting random Joe Bloggs fighters for no money.”
Fury went on to claim that, having spoken to his former rival about him being a possible replacement for Anthony Joshua, Usyk said the earliest he would be ready to fight is March.
A trilogy could therefore be explored for next year but, until then, Fury can only hope his clash with ‘AJ’ goes ahead on December 11 as planned.
