Oleksandr Usyk ruled out the possibility of colliding with one particular heavyweight, insisting that he does not wish to “break this guy”.
It was announced last month that the bona fide heavyweight king will face Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23, headlining a Ring Magazine show at Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza.
While the IBF and WBA are yet to comment on the status of Usyk’s belts, the WBC has confirmed that it will sanction his contest with Verhoeven.
But the Ukrainian, of course, is widely expected to score a convincing victory over Verhoeven, whose only professional boxing contest came against 0-6 heavyweight Janos Finfera – who he stopped in the second round – in 2014.
Usyk, meanwhile, is coming off a fifth-round stoppage win over Daniel Dubois in July, dominating their rematch to become a three-time, two-division undisputed champion.
But despite having already cemented himself as the greatest heavyweight of this era, the 39-year-old claims he remains eager for at least three more outings.
After his match with Verhoeven, Usyk has told Inside the Ring that he will target an undisputed clash with the winner of Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois – which takes place on May 9 – before exploring a potential trilogy showdown with Tyson Fury.
When asked if he would face heavyweight prodigy Moses Itauma, though, Usyk simply insisted that the 21-year-old is on a completely different path.
“No, I’m not going to fight with Itauma because he’s a young guy. I don’t want to break this guy.”
Itauma is gearing up to face durable customer Jermaine Franklin on March 28, with many expecting the American to take him into the later rounds.
There is little doubt amongst fans, analysts and fighters that Itauma is on the way to championship fights, but it appears he will not have the chance to face the top dog from the older generation.
