Oleksandr Usyk To Make Decision On Next Career Move Soon
Undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk will have a decision soon regarding his future as a cruiserweight.
Usyk, who is promoted by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, is contemplating a move up to heavyweight in the hopes of securing a title fight. But given the state of the heavyweight title scene and how clogged up it is, Usyk is also considering postponing his move and remaining as a cruiserweight where he has an opponent in Denis Lebedev.
Hearn spoke to ESPN and reveal details about a meeting he will have with Usyk to discuss his future. The meeting between both sides will take place in New York in the coming days.
“We have a meeting in New York next week to decide his next fight and date. He either stays at cruiserweight and fights [former world titlist Denis] Lebedev or moves up,” Hearn said.
The undefeated Usyk, a former Olympic gold medalist, had one of the most successful years for a boxer in recent history. Usyk started 2018 as the WBO champion, but unified the division with wins over Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev, winning the World Boxing Super Series. Usyk then successfully retained his titles with a knockout victory over former champion Tony Bellew in November in England.
While Usyk was unifying the division, Lebedev had been waiting in the wings to get his shot at the undisputed titles. Lebedev was the former WBA “Super” cruiserweight champion, but was moved to “Champion in Recess,” allowing the title to be on the line in the World Boxing Super Series.
Should Usyk make his move up to heavyweight, there are a number of names who could face him. Two names being considered are Alexander Povetkin and Luis Ortiz, whom Hearn said there is a “70 percent chance” of Usyk facing either of them in his first fight as a heavyweight in 2019.
