Oleksandr Usyk reveals how many more times he will fight before retiring

The Ukrainian, 35, is unbeaten as a professional and reigns as unified heavyweight champion

Alex Pattle
Combat Sports Correspondent
Friday 23 September 2022 09:48 BST
Comments
'Fury is a lunatic in a good way' - Usyk on potential fight with 'Gypsy King'

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Oleksandr Usyk has revealed that he plans to fight three more times before bringing his professional boxing career to an end.

The Ukrainian outpointed Anthony Joshua in August to beat the Briton for the second time in 11 months and retain the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight belts, which he took from “AJ” last September.

Usyk, 35, was expected to face WBC title holder Tyson Fury next to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion, but the Briton’s desired fight date will come too soon for Usyk. As such, Fury has turned his attention to compatriot Joshua, with a long-awaited bout between the pair on the cards for December.

Usyk is not giving up on a potential contest with Fury down the line, however, and told the USYK17 YouTube channel on Thursday (22 September): “I can fight three more times at my very best. It’s a realistic perspective for my top form.”

When asked whom he hopes to fight before retiring, Usyk answered: “Fury, ‘Canelo’, and a farewell fight at the Olympic stadium [in Kyiv].

“Canelo, he wanted to fight with me, but it will be a freak occasion, just for the sake of earning money.”

Heavyweight Fury, 34, is unbeaten like Usyk, while Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is a multiple-weight world champion.

The Mexican is undisputed super-middleweight champion and has also held titles at middleweight, light-middleweight and light-heavyweight.

The ambitious Alvarez has expressed a desire to make his biggest weight-jump yet to face Usyk, who previously reigned as the only undisputed cruiserweight champion of the four-belt era.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in