Usyk Could Move Down To Cruiserweight After Fury

Oleksandr Usyk may return to cruiserweight if he becomes the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. 

The Ukrainian puts his WBA, WBO and IBF titles on the line against the WBC champion Tyson Fury. A win makes Usyk a two-weight undisputed champion, following his feats at cruiserweight. A rematch clause is in place, which is likely to go ahead, provided it is a competitive fight. Prior to moving up to heavyweight, Usyk dominated the cruiserweight division.

He stopped Tony Bellew in his last fight in the division before moving up. Then he secured two major wins against Anthony Joshua, becoming the Unified Heavyweight Champion. A win over Fury will solidify his position as an all-time great. He will join Evander Holyfield as the other man to have become undisputed at cruiserweight and heavyweight. If he achieves that, Usyk could drop back down to cruiserweight. 

Usyk On His Future

“This is an incredible feeling, having the opportunity to be here now and do what God allows me to do. All the historic champions; all these boxers have done a lot for boxing. Rocky Marciano was never defeated, he died undefeated. Maybe I will go back to cruiserweight and win,” Usyk said

However, there are still big fights for him as a heavyweight. The Ukrainian could box Deontay Wilder. The American has long talked about how Usyk had been ducking him. Wilder will face Zhilei Zhang on June 1. If he emphatically stops the Chinese, he puts himself in the conversation for the biggest fights.

There is also the outside chance of a trilogy with Anthony Joshua. Joshua has had a resurgence since teaming up with Ben Davidson. He has stopped his last two opponents, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou. Davidson has said he believes he can help Joshua secure that win. But given that Usyk had beaten Joshua so decisively, there is less demand to see that. Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, has dismissed the trilogy. 

Usyk After Boxing

“I am not sure AJ wants the third one deep in his heart. It seems to be dangerous. It might look like a gambling addiction to many. After you’ve lost money on roulette, you come back full of confidence. You bet twice or three times more than you’ve lost, expecting your bet to win. But in the end, you realize that you have lost everything.

“One more thing that makes their third fight less probable is the sequence of the mandatories. As we all know, the next stop of the carousel is IBF, not the WBC. No matter who wins, the rematch goes next as we will enforce it. And even if the IBF let it [the mandatory] go, after the second fight – the IBF is next in line, not the WBC,” Krassyuk said

There is also the chance that Usyk will retire if he beats Fury. There would be nothing else for the boxer to accomplish. Becoming an Olympic gold medalist, the two-weight undisputed champion and having an extensive amateur record puts Uysk down as a Future Hall of Famer. He has spoken previously about retiring if he were to beat Fury. That would include playing Ukrainian football, signally an end to his boxing career. 

“I win and then I go and play football. I have a contract signed with the number one football team [in Ukraine], Polissya number one,” Usyk said