Oleksandr Usyk has eyes on both Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder before he hangs up the gloves – and believes he knows which will be the harder night.
The Ukrainian built his legacy in a competitive cruiserweight scene, becoming undisputed in 15 fights before moving up and starting to belt-collect in the sport’s top division.
He has three out of the four puzzle pieces following victories over Anthony Joshua, and is targetting a fight with Fury for his chance to become undisputed two times over.
Whilst many consider ‘The Gypsy King’ the best heavyweight on the planet by a distance, Usyk believes a harder fight for him will be Wilder – the American knockout artist who has been beaten by Fury twice.
Despite not holding a world title, Usyk has expressed an interest in testing himself against Wilder – who has 42 knockouts from 43 wins – in the future.
Derek Chisora was the Ukrainian’s second fight in the heavyweight ranks, and knows his fighting style well. He believes that he’s correct to be wary of Wilder. In fact, he told Seconds Out that the power puncher from Alabama stops Usyk.
“Yeah [Wilder is a tougher fight than Fury for him], cause he knows Deontay Wilder’s gonna lay him out.”
Wilder has said Usyk is ‘scared’ to fight him and, whilst the champion disputes this, he’s more likely to be facing Fury next.
The pair are expected to re-enter negotiations for their fight towards the end of the year assuming bouts in August – Usyk versus Daniel Dubois – and September – Fury versus TBA – are won without incident or injury.
As for Wilder, he’s rumoured to be facing Andy Ruiz Jr before moving towards a fight with Anthony Joshua.