Oleksandr Usyk has affirmed that he will only fight Tyson Fury next and has cleared up the confusion surrounding his proposed clash with Deontay Wilder. Wilder recently told assembled media after his victory over Robert Helenius that he hopes Usyk ‘keeps his promise’ of fighting him after the Ukrainian showed interest in a potential match-up between the pair.
Usyk said in a recent interview that the other fighter he would like to face besides Fury is Wilder. Many believed this meant he would consider facing Wilder as an alternative opponent but Usyk states that he would only be interested in it after he fights The Gypsy King.
Usyk and Fury are expected to do battle for all four major world titles in March 2023. The Cat is a former undisputed cruiserweight champion and is hoping to become the first two-weight undisputed champion of the four-belt era.
“We had the plan to fight Tyson Fury this is our biggest priority at this moment so this fight will happen if he beats his opponent, Derek Chisora,” Usyk told Seconds Out.
Another opponent that has been talked about for Usyk is Joe Joyce. The WBO is expected to order Usyk to make a mandatory defence of his world title against Joyce in the same month that the Fury fight is being planned.
Usyk defeated Joyce via a wide points decision in a World Series of Boxing bout back in 2013. The Juggernaut has repeatedly called for a fight with his former adversary since exploding onto the world scene. However, Usyk has played down the prospect.
“No, I don’t want to fight with him, he’s like a tank,” joked Usyk. “Leaving jokes aside, I want to fight for belts, I need to fight for the belts.”