Even at 37 years old, Oleksandr Usyk is capable of pulling off surprises. As a unified world boxing champion at heavyweight, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, he had a wealth of experience to go with his wealth of skill, and so it’s not too surprising that he managed to dismantle Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last month.
What’s far more surprising, is that, following their contracted rematch later this year, Usyk may drop back down to the 200-pound division, rather than take on any of the other hopeful heavyweights like Joseph Parker, Zhilei Zhang, Daniel Dubois, or Jared Anderson.
Oleksandr Usyk Doesn’t Rule Out Cruiserweight Return
It would be a huge boxing decision
Speaking on the 3 Knockdown Rule podcast Wednesday, Usyk said he’s open to the cruiserweight return once he fulfils his rematch obligation to fight Fury a second time, on December 21 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
“I think maybe after rematch, I will go down in weight, to cruiserweight.”
His promoter, Egis Klimas, added that they’ve already had conversations about it, as there’s a way in which Usyk could enhance his legacy both at 200-pounds, and in his entire career, even further.
“We spoke about that going down to cruiserweight and becoming undisputed a second time at criuserweight,” Klimas said.
Finishing, Usyk said: “It’s my plan.”
It Rules Out Certain Heavyweight Fights For Usyk
It’s unclear who Klimas and Ugas will target at 200 pounds
Returning to cruiserweight rules out certain fights at heavyweight, though in swatting aside the No.2 and No.3-ranked challengers in the division in Fury and Anthony Joshua — themselves legitimate world champions at one time — there are few stand-out opponents left at that scale.
Cruiserweight is hardly teeming with options, though. But if he had the goal to become undisputed again, he’d have to go through the current champions in that division, including the WBA champion Gilbert Ramirez, the WBC title holder Norair Mikaeljan, and the WBO ruler Chris Billam-Smith.
Usyk’s best wins at cruiserweight include decisions over Michael Hunter, Mairis Briedis, and Murat Gassiev, as well as a prior knockout win over Marco Huck.
The victory over Fury may have taken a toll on Usyk, not because of the impact of the fight and how grueling the win was, but moreso the sacrifices he had to make in the build-up to the bout as he priotized the undisputed championship match over time spent with his family.
“My camp started in September 2023,” he said at the post-fight press conference last month after inflicting a maiden defeat on Fury’s career. “I worked for nine months,” he said, referencing the postponed bout as it was originally due to take place in February.
“I missed Happy New Year,” he said. “I missed my son’s birthday, I missed my other son’s birthday, I missed my daughter’s birthday, and then the birth of my daughter.
“I also missed family holidays. I was only focused on this fight, now I’m happy, and I want to go back home.”
