Oleksandr Usyk has made the decision to vacate his three heavyweight titles (WBC, WBA, and IBF) and make room for fresh challengers, or recycled ones if the sanctioning bodies opt to go that route. Whatever the case may be, the heavyweight title situation is now out of Usyk’s hands, and willingly on his end.
We’ve already talked about what will or what could happen with those title vacancies. But what about Usyk’s next and, perhaps, final fight? He says he will have a “last dance.” That doesn’t guarantee
he’ll only have one more fight, because there could still be a lot of money on the table after for other fights.
But Usyk is 39, he looks ready to wind down his career, and maybe his iffy (to be generous) performance against Rico Verhoeven in May really wasn’t some elaborate act to ensure fan entertainment, but a sign that mentally, physically, or both, Usyk’s days of dominance are at their end.
We know Rico Verhoeven still wants a rematch, even without any belts on the line, as he’s already taken to social media to make that clear. And there is some sense to that.
But there are other options.
Tyson Fury seems less interested at the moment than he has at other points, but a third fight there is always possible.
Usyk does seem to believe that Deontay Wilder as the one top heavyweight of the recent era that he hasn’t beaten; even with Wilder’s status and standing in the sport having badly faded in recent years, that matchup was already discussed pretty recently.
There’s really no reason to fight Daniel Dubois or Anthony Joshua again, especially now that the latter has been training with Usyk. He’s beaten both twice and done it convincingly.
A “victory lap” rematch against his old pal Derek Chisora shouldn’t be counted out. And neither should a novelty fight with Jake Paul, if Netflix or whomever thinks there’s really big money in it. It could be an exhibition with Mike Tyson or Roy Jones Jr or whatever, some cross-generational PPV cash grab sold as being a hell of a lot more than it really is.
But what about an intriguing wild card shout?
What about David Benavidez?
It is a little crazy, but it might not be that crazy. Really consider some of what we’ve seen in boxing in recent years.
Most recently, word has been that Benavidez’s team are looking to make a cruiserweight unification fight with Noel Mikaelian. Mikaelian is a good fighter, and it’s a fine fight, logical, but he’s not a star. Beating him will not elevate Benavidez’s drawing power or anything.
A chance to face Usyk? Even with no belts on the line, there’s box office there.
Benavidez’s father and trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr, said in early May that he feels Usyk is the only real challenge out there for his son:
“I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t see any danger for David Benavidez at 175 and at cruiserweight. … I think the biggest challenge would be Usyk. That’s something like out of this world. But that’s the only guy that I think — that would be fuckin’ crazy, you know. That would be another big challenge, that’s another topic because he is the pound-for-pound best.”
Benavidez did admit that his son, having just moved up to cruiserweight and thrashing Zurdo Ramirez, isn’t quite there with the weight, and fighting a 225-230 lb Usyk would be a real risk. Benavidez was a big super middleweight and light heavyweight, and clearly his skills and power are carrying to 200 lbs and cruiserweight, but that jump from cruiser to top-level heavyweight is a real task. Very few have been truly successful; Usyk, of course, is arguably the most successful of all, with the legendary Evander Holyfield the only real competition for that claim. And neither of those guys started at 168/175 as pros, either.
Benavidez (32-0, 26 KO) might be just crazy and ambitious enough to give it a go, though. His career is in a groove, he’s 29 years old, and there would be a lot to gain by beating Usyk.
There would also be a lot to lose, not the least of which is simply career momentum. It would be one thing for this situation to play out when people still saw Usyk (25-0, 16 KO) as being in his prime days, at his best. If Benavidez chased glory in that case and fell short, it’s one thing. But that is not the wider perception of Usyk now. Not after the Verhoeven fight. And yet he would still be a tremendously difficult task, on paper, for Benavidez.
Roy Jones Jr, who won world titles at 160, 168, and 175 before a brief stint at heavyweight and a WBA title win in 2003 against John Ruiz, has endorsed the idea, telling FightHype that it’s really the only fight for Benavidez:
“Imagine if that would have been David Benavidez [instead of Rico Verhoeven] on that night, Usyk would have had his first loss. That is the only fight for David Benavidez right now. Anybody else is a waste of time. You have got a chance to go up and try to make history again, doing something that you kind of want to do anyway. You could be the first to beat him and you would make history.”
If you were Benavidez, would you take the risk? Do you think Benavidez could beat Usyk if the two were to fight in six to nine months or so?
