Who will get Usyk in the next fight: Fury, Hrgovic, American puncher prospect or former sparring partner?

August 26, WBA/WBO/IBF/IBO world champion Oleksandr Usykahead of schedule defeating Daniel Dubois, retained his belts with his second heavyweight defense and 10th career championship fight. Before the fight in Wroclaw, Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren stated that the winner of the Usyk-Dubois fight would face the title holder in the ring WBC with Tyson Fury.

Now the British manager is talking about his readiness to seek a rematch between Usyk and Dubois. It is difficult to believe in the likelihood of such a development of events, but this option should not be completely ruled out. As well as the fact that Warren and Fury will once again do everything so that Usyk’s fight with the Gypsy King does not take place. In the meantime, consider the obvious and not very possible future rivals of the Ukrainian champion.

The Usyk-Fury fight has been waiting for two years, and it is important to organize it in the near future

Yes, for the first time, a possible duel between a Ukrainian and the Gypsy King was discussed back in September 2021 after Usyk’s first victory over Joshua. After the revenge of the Ukrainian and AJ, the teams of Usyk and Fury even started organizing the fight. What happened next is known to all. Now Usyk, having defeated Dubois, dropped one mandatory defense. Fury will face former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in September. It is unlikely that this fight will make any sense from a boxing point of view, but it will allow Fury to be in shape and tone for the winter – when, perhaps, his fight with Usyk will take place. Recall that it is in January-February in Saudi Arabia that they want to arrange a big boxing evening with the Usyk-Fury, Joshua-Wilder fight.

It took five years to organize the Crawford-Spence fight this summer. Usyk-Fury is still being talked about and they are trying to organize only two years. But at the same time, one should not forget that Usyk is 36, Fury is 35. The two champions are now at the peak of their form and capabilities. Of course, the battle between Usyk and Fury will be interesting in three years, God forbid each of the boxers continue their careers as long as possible, but it will be a shame from professional and spectator interest if the boxers do not determine the strongest in their prime period. For example, it’s a shame now that Lennox Lewis will meet in the ring with Mike Tyson only in 2002, and not in the mid-second half of the 1990s, when both were at their peak.

Now the duel between Usyk and Fury is the biggest and most anticipated in professional boxing and it would be a crime for the sport and the fans not to organize it.

Web of defenses and Hrgovic’s turn

A year and a half ago, assessing Usyk’s prospects, we said that he could find himself in the situation of Wladimir Klitschko, who was simply bogged down in mandatory defenses. The number of titles is very cool and an indicator of class and greatness, but they also impose certain obligations. Usyk has already defended the WBA belt, the WBO and IBF titles remain.

The first is easier: Zhang Zhilei, who defeated Joe Joyce and received the status of a mandatory contender through the World Boxing Organization and the WBO interim champion belt, will have a rematch with the Briton in September. And not the fact that he can defend the belt. But in any case, for the WBO, protecting Usyk is not yet a priority.

Things are worse with IBF. The organization, or rather Eddy Hearn, even before the battle between Usyk and Dubois, insisted on a meeting between the Ukrainian and the obligatory challenger from the International Boxing Federation, Filip Hrgovic. Then the WBA defended its priority right to the first defense, but now, if the battle between Usyk and Fury cannot be organized, it is Hrgovic who becomes the most likely opponent of Usyk. Hearn has already stated this, and given the experience of cooperation between the Ukrainian team and the British promoter, I think they will easily find common ground again.

Wilder is busy with Joshua

There is a lot of talk about a potentially interesting match between Usyk and Wilder. But, we have already noted, judging by the rumors and official statements, the American is preparing to meet with Joshua. The battle of two ex-world champions is also of great interest and, given the popularity of boxers, promises good money. Let a lot still depend on the organization of the Usyk-Fury fight.

Another young prospect-knocker

The American Jared, who fought on the same day with Usyk and won his 16th victory in the 16th fight in the professional ring, stopping the Ukrainian Andrei Rudenko ahead of schedule, inflicting only the second early defeat in his career, is the new boxing hope of the United States. 23-year-old Andreson is the youngest of the TOP-15 heavyweight boxers. They are betting on him in America, already now organizing boxing evenings and broadcasts just for him.

As befits a prospect, Anderson still fights often – the fight with Rudenko was his third this year. There are no big names in his track record yet, with the exception, perhaps, of ex-world champion Charles Marttin and Russian Vladimir Tereshkin, who even before the annexation of Crimea was on a contract with the K2 promotion company, acted as sparring partners of the Klitschko brothers, and Vladimir called him one of the most talented heavyweight boxers at the time.

Anderson is young, already recognizable in the United States, and Usyk’s fight with him will definitely arouse interest across the ocean. The only question is whether the promoters will risk Jared’s career, given the difference in class and experience of the boxers and, as a result, the almost obvious result of the fight.

Former sparring partner

Probably the most non-obvious, but at the same time very real and quite interesting opponent for Usyk is the Congolese Martin Bakole. The 30-year-old boxer, who is very highly rated in the heavyweight, was at one time Alexander’s sparring partner, worked with Anthony Joshua, had 20 fights in the professional ring, of which he won 19, 14 ahead of schedule.

Bakole is in the TOP-15 rating of all boxing organizations, he is a strong, dangerous and hungry opponent for big fights. Plus, there are two options that can work in his favor. First: Bokole has already fought twice in Poland, in the first fight he defeated Mauriusz Wach in April 2019, in the second – in April of this year, inflicting the first defeat of his career on the Ukrainian Shevadzutsky. In other words, Martin is known in Poland.

Hence the second point. We must pay tribute to Alexander Krasiuk and K2: the show in Wroclaw turned out to be excellent and, I think, commercially successful. And if so, why not arrange it in Poland again, especially since Bakole is known to the Poles as well as Dubois.