The next fight of Oleksandr Usyk has yet to be confirmed, with unified cruiserweight champion David Benavidez emerging as another potential opponent.
- In August, it was reported that Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) was looking to face Deontay Wilder (45-4-1, 43 KOs) in March in the U.S.
- On Friday, Mike Coppinger reported, citing Usyk’s advisor Serhii Lapin, that the three-time, two-division undisputed champion plans to return to cruiserweight and is targeting a fight with David Benavidez.
According to Coppinger, “Usyk wants to fight Benavidez at his best. He also wants to be undisputed at cruiserweight once again.”
To date, Usyk is the only cruiserweight undisputed champion of the four-belt era, having collected all four major titles: IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO.
The 39-year-old native of Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine, last fought at cruiserweight in November 2018, when he knocked out Tony Bellew in the eighth round to retain his undisputed 200-pound title.
Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) of Phoenix, Arizona, currently holds the unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles. He is scheduled to face WBC titleholder Michal Cieslak (28-2, 22 KOs) on December 5 in Glendale, Arizona.
The division’s IBF title is currently vacant after Jai Opetaia was stripped of the belt ahead of his fight with Brandon Glanton in March.
- Usyk was last in action in May, when he stopped Rico Verhoeven in the 11th round of their heavyweight bout.