Oleksandr Usyk has said he wants to defend his world heavyweight titles against Deontay Wilder, and Wilder’s camp have indicated they would welcome the matchup.
The Ukrainian, who holds the WBC, WBA and IBF belts, has broken his silence about his next move and confirmed he is targeting the former long-reigning WBC champion. Usyk has not fought since stopping Daniel Dubois in their July rematch at Wembley Stadium, where he became undisputed world heavyweight champion for a second time after a fifth-round halt.
Speaking at the WBC convention in Thailand to Boxing King Media, Usyk said: “I want to fight Deontay Wilder. I think it’s interesting. This is a world champion guy, this is a very famous guy, this is a strong guy. He is one of the great heavyweights of the last 10 years.”
Wilder, who returned in June with a seventh-round stoppage of Tyrrell Anthony Herndon, would be open to fighting Usyk, according to his co-manager Shelly Finkel. “Usyk is a great champion,” Finkel told Sky Sports. “We have plans for next year and we’d like Oleksandr Usyk to be part of them. If we receive the right offer, we would be open to that fight.”
A win for Wilder would give him the chance to regain world title status nearly a decade after he first claimed the WBC crown by defeating Bermane Stiverne in January 2015.
Usyk, the unbeaten 38-year-old, recently vacated the WBO belt, with Britain’s Fabio Wardley elevated as the new WBO champion. Usyk has said he intends to reunify all four major belts in the future, responding to suggestions he is no longer undisputed by saying: “Some people are saying I’m not undisputed champion anymore. Well, that is only temporary.”