Oleksandr Usyk looks poised to take on Deontay Wilder in early 2027, but one of their two common professional opponents is picking the latter to spoil the Ukrainian’s ‘farewell fight’.
Usyk had held the unified heavyweight world title up until June, but an underwhelming yet victorious display against Rico Verhoeven seemed to convince the veteran that Father Time was breathing down his neck, subsequently causing him to vacate all three belts and plan for a career finale.
Since then, it has become clear that Wilder is Usyk’s targeted opponent, with ‘The Bronze Bomber’ bringing both the name and punch power to make the bout an interesting and sellable one, particularly in the United States.
Yet, speaking with Seconds Out, Derek Chisora – who lost out to Wilder earlier this year and was beaten by Usyk in 2020 – revealed that he is backing the Tuscaloosa knockout artist to spring the upset and hand Usyk a first career defeat.
“Deontay [beats Usyk]. Bro, Deontay is going to lay him out, I am telling you.
“Forget the right hand, I felt his power and he has got power. Eating a punch from that guy is hard. Deontay knocks him out.”
Whilst many fight fans are looking towards Usyk’s age as the reason behind his decline, Chisora went on to highlight another concern of his, noting the absence of long-time trainer Yuriy Tkachenko for the Verhoeven scrap.
“He is not being trained by his old trainer, he is going away from his whole team and he is being trained by his pals. Who am I going to put money on? I’ll put my money on Deontay.”
Usyk vs Wilder could be set to take place in early 2027, with New York deemed to be one of the frontrunners to host the bout, for what would be Usyk’s first stateside contest since his 2019 heavyweight debut.
