Though Oleksandr Usyk will be taking on kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven in his next fight, the unified heavyweight ruler has made it clear he wants to get back to more traditional bouts thereafter. That plan may include not one, but two trilogies.
Usyk’s runs at both cruiserweight and heavyweight have been nothing short of remarkable, becoming a history-breaking two-division undisputed champion whilst maintaining an undefeated record and pulling off a host of victories on away soil.
After becoming the first man to become an undisputed heavyweight champion this side of the millennium, the Ukrainian mastermind vacated the IBF crown and won it back to become a two-time, four-belt champion in the top division.
Usyk vacated the WBO strap late last year – now held by Fabio Wardley – and has eyes on equalling Muhammad Ali’s record of becoming a three-time heavyweight champ.
When revealing his hit-list ahead of retirement, the 39-year-old targeted the winner of Wardley’s May defence against Daniel Dubois before plans to revisit his rivalry with Tyson Fury, who returns to the ring against Arslanbek Makhmudov next month.
“Rico, this is first. Second, it’s who wins Wardley-Dubois. Third fight is my friend, Greedy Belly, Tyson Fury.”
Should Daniel Dubois manage to dethrone Wardley, a third fight against Usyk will be largely unappealing to the public, given the fact that Usyk has twice stopped him and looked to be of a different calibre when the pair collided last July.
Fury landing the trilogy bout, when considering that Usyk is again 2-0 up, will also split opinion. In its favour is that ‘The Gypsy King’ could arguably still be the next best heavyweight on the scene. He is also undeniably the man to have ran Usyk the closest, so the 37-year-old may provide fight fans with the best spectacle out of all available options – or ones the Ukrainian will consider, at least.
