Oleksandr Usyk believes one of his past foes cane become undisputed champion next year.
Usyk currently holds the WBC, WBA and IBF belts, putting him in possession of three of the four world heavyweight titles, but he has already been undisputed on two occasions thanks to victories over the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois.
The Ukrainian returns to action in May when he defends his WBC crown against kickboxer Rico Verhoeven, and in the build-up to that bout, he has spent the past few months working with former unified champion Joshua.
Usyk beat Joshua twice when they met in 2021 and 2022 respectively, and the Brit is set to return to action this year, hoping to potentially claim world honours again.
The partnership between Usyk and Joshua has seemingly ruled out a third meeting between the pair, but the Ukrainian has told the Daily Mail that he backs Joshua to become undisputed at some stage, throwing his signature behind a plan mapped out in his mind.
“2024/25 Anthony with Oleksandr training together. 2026/27 Anthony undisputed champion. Good idea, Usyk help, signed.”
Usyk then explained how he believes his time spent working with Joshua can help the Brit become the sole ruler of the division.
“I think [he’ll] be better because physically [he’s] good, mentally I think [he’s] good because we speak every day, training two times.
“I know Anthony is a champion. Yes now he doesn’t have belts but it doesn’t matter. AJ it’s possible, you undisputed champion in 2027. I know mistake Anthony [made]. We work about this and delete mistake. Anthony delete mistake. It’s my partner. My brother.”
Usyk would most likely have to retire before Joshua could have any hopes of becoming undisputed champion, and the Ukrainian recently named a possible change to his proposed three-man hit-list before hanging up the gloves.