The dust has just about settled on Oleksandr Usyk becoming undisputed world heavyweight champion for a second time, and we enter a new and fascinating era for boxing’s marquee weight division.
Usyk (24-0) is now 38 years old but he showed no signs of age slowing him down when he produced another peerless performance to take apart Daniel Dubois inside five rounds at London’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday July 19.
The Ukrainian now holds all of the belts at heavyweight – the four major sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO) plus the Ring magazine strap and the mythical moniker of ‘lineal champion’ (the man who beat the man).
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Sadly, boxing politics mean it is very very difficult for an undisputed champion to stay that for long, in any division. Each sanctioning body has a mandatory contender – the guy they say is next in line rather than who the champ might want to fight. Keeping them all happy? Good luck with that.
Staying undisputed?
You might remember that when Usyk became undisputed at heavyweight for the first time in May 2024, his reign lasted just a couple of weeks when the IBF handed his title to Dubois while he went off to prepare for a rematch vs Tyson Fury.
Well, we have all the potential for a similar scenario now, with the WBO already ordering Usyk to come to a deal with Kiwi Joseph Parker to defend their belt next. There is one massive fly in that ointment though.
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Late last week Riyadh Season and Sela – responsible for pumping money into the sport in the last two years to deliver huge dream fights – told Ring magazine they had no interest in making Usyk vs Parker. Reading between the lines it is a cracking fight for the boxing purist, but it has limited crossover potential.
So what happens next?
So right now the smart money is on Usyk and Parker not happening, and the WBO stripping Usyk of the title. So what would happen then? Likely this…
- Usyk would go off and choose an opponent that works for him and the people putting up the cash to make these fights. Trilogy fights vs Fury or Anthony Joshua are absolutely a possibility, but there is another tantalising prospect too – a cross-generation matchup with the exciting young Brit Moses Itauma. It’s a showdown Saudi power broker Turki Alalshikh wants to see – describing it recently as “the fight”.
- The WBO would either hand the title to Parker, or have him face another of its ranked fighters for the vacant title. Their #1 ranked fighter is none other than Itauma, so Parker vs Itauma later this year for the vacant title is not something to sleep on. While the young British star is still only 20, he is not only fast and powerful but surprisingly precocious when it comes to ring savvy and IQ.
- Tyson Fury is back, as most experts believed he would be. He officially called time on his latest retirement recently and will return in 2026. While a trilogy fight with Usyk might be the one he wants, is it one he can win? And is it the biggest draw financially? The answer to both of those questions might well be no – surely the fight that makes most sense is that long-awaited all-British blockbuster vs Anthony Joshua.
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- Speaking of Joshua, the two-time heavyweight king is currently recovering from elbow surgery he underwent in May, and is scheduled to return later this year. There are two massive fights he expected to figure in at some stage, but still has not. That blockbuster vs Fury, and a massive showdown vs big-punching former American world champ Deontay Wilder. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ returned recently and a Joshua vs Wilder barnburner later this year, followed by Fury vs Joshua in 2026, sign us up.
- The most leftfield possible scenario of all? Usyk forgets boxing for a little while and meets Youtuber turned boxer Jake Paul in some type of MMA match. We would not even be mentioning this possibility at all, but the two did face off in the Wembley ring after Oleksandr recently took care of business vs Dubois. This one just doesn’t sound very Usyk, but the man is as good as it gets and he deserves now to make as much money as he can doing whatever he wants before retirement finally arrives.
When one era ends in boxing, a new one starts very quickly. As ever, it will be box office, get the popcorn…
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