Former undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world Oleksandr Usyk is obviously not going anywhere in terms of fighting for a heavyweight world championship.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist is the WBO mandatory challenger to Anthony Joshua who is slated to face Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev on December 12. Pulev is the IBF mandatory challenger and he could really mess up the division if he manages to beat Joshua.
The Brit’s priority is securing an undisputed fight with the WBC champ Tyson Fury, but the Ukrainian fighter won’t be sitting around and wait. According to Usyk’s co-promoter Alexander Krassyuk, Olexandr will be ready in April.
“Usyk has gone through eight months of hard work getting prepared for Derek Chisora. Now he needs to step back a bit and get some treatment for his body and relaxation for his mind.
“Hopefully he will be ready to return in April 2021, and hopefully AJ will be around to comply with WBO mandatory regulations.
“If not – we will be fighting for the vacant WBO title with a contender appointed by WBO.”
Britain’s Daniel Dubois is the second-ranked in the WBO heavyweight rankings and if Anthony Joshua vacates the belt, then Usyk and Dubois will fight for it.
Asked about Dubois, Krassyuk joked: “I wish we could choose the opponent for the vacant title!
“Before thinking of Dubois or anyone else we need to know AJ vs Pulev winner and their strategy for the future.
“But the thing I can make really clear is that we will be pushing hard to put our mandatory position in effect.”
