Oleksandr Usyk has said his shocking upcoming fight with Rico Verhoeven may give way to two more bouts before he retires, with the heavyweight champion outlining his preferred final opponents.
On 23 May, unified champion Usyk will defend his WBC title against kickboxing icon Verhoeven in a strange match-up, which is due to take place at the pyramids of Giza.
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The bout is a voluntary defence for Usyk, who also holds the WBA and IBF belts, and who is expected to be given a mandatory defence as his next fight.
Oleksandr Usyk in Liverpool in September 2025 (Getty)
But while WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has talked up Agit Kabayel as Usyk’s next opponent after Verhoeven, the Ukrainian great has other plans.
“Listen,” the unbeaten 39-year-old told The Ring magazine. “Rico, this is first.
“Second, it’s who wins [between] Wardley [and] Dubois. And third fight, it’s my friend, ‘greedy belly’ Tyson Fury.”
Usyk was referencing Fabio Wardley’s WBO title defence against Daniel Dubois, ahead of that all-British clash in Manchester on 9 May.
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Wardley, 31, was elevated to WBO champion in November as Usyk vacated the regular title, a month after Wardley won the interim belt by stopping Joseph Parker. Meanwhile, 28-year-old Dubois is a former two-time opponent of Usyk, having fallen to stoppage defeats by the southpaw in 2023 and last July.
Then there is Fury, who has also lost to Usyk twice. The Ukrainian outpointed the Briton, 37, in May and December of 2024, handing Fury the only losses of his professional career.
Usyk during his first of two wins over Tyson Fury (Getty Images)
Fury then retired – for the fifth time in his career – in January 2025. However, he will return on 11 April, boxing Arslanbek Makhmudov at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Despite Fury’s absence from the ring since late 2024, his promoter Frank Warren has long stressed the “Gypsy King”’s desire for a trilogy bout with Usyk.
Usyk, addressing his bout with Verhoeven, said earlier this month: “I truly respect people who reach the very top in their sport. Rico is one of them. I respect his journey – he’s truly the king of kickboxing. But this is boxing, a different game with its own rules and kings.”
Dutchman Verhoeven, 36, added: “I spent 12 years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion. I wasn’t looking for comfort, so I started looking for the highest challenge available in another world. Usyk is undisputed in boxing, that’s the kind of challenge that motivates me – undisputed versus undisputed.”
Rico Verhoeven is regarded as one of kickboxing’s all-time greats (Getty)
Usyk previously reigned as undisputed cruiserweight champion, and he remains the only fighter to have held that status in the four-belt era. With his first win against Fury, Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight king in 24 years.
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He later gave up the IBF belt to facilitate his rematch with Fury, meaning Dubois was elevated from interim IBF champion to regular title-holder. But Usyk won back the IBF strap with his stoppage of Dubois last summer, regaining undisputed status in the process. By vacating the WBO belt in November, he reverted to unified champion again.