There’s been a lot of talk and speculation as to the future plans of heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, who is currently schedule to take on kickboxer Rico Vanhoeven in a couple of weeks in front of the Egyptian pyramids. While it’s known that Usyk will be ordered to make a WBC mandatory title defense after this outing, it’s uncertain as to whether or not he’ll oblige or rather simply drop that belt altogether and look elsewhere.
Elsewhere could potentially be someone like Fabio Wardley, who is
defending his WBO heavyweight belt against Daniel Dubois this weekend. But if Wardley wants a chance at Usyk, an executive for Usyk’s promotional company Sergey Lapin tells Sky Sports that he’ll have to earn it.
“If Fabio Wardley proves himself at the highest level, he can definitely become part of that conversation,” Lapin said.
Lapin would continue on by saying that Usyk is motivated by the chance to become a three-time undisputed champion by completely re-unifying the heavyweight belts, but that their side isn’t going to pigeonhole themselves into any one particular course of action.
“We don’t build our plans around one name or one outcome. There are several strong contenders in the division, and we are focused on the biggest and most meaningful fights available…If it’s Fabio Wardley, it could potentially be for undisputed. If it’s Agit Kabayel, it would more likely be a title defense,” Lapin said.
Usyk’s team don’t shy away from the fact that Usyk is now at the point in his career where he’s looking to capitalize on the business side of the sport, not only legacy, and considering that he’s already cemented his legacy it leaves many options open to him.
Fans should have a better idea of Usyk’s intentions in short order as he’ll have to quickly make a decision following his upcoming event.
