Oleksandr Usyk's promoter, Alex Krassyuk, says he would like to see him as the next undisputed title shot after his 12-round unanimous decision win over Tyson Fury in their rematch last Saturday night.
He will have to wait for the winner of the Feb. 22 bout between IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker before negotiations begin for an undisputed title contest with Usyka (23-0, 12 KOs).
Usyk says he is open to any fight and that Turki Alalshikh will decide if he fights the Dubois-Parker winner. Oleksandr has no one to fight, and that would be huge for him in the heavyweight division. He's talked about wanting to move up to cruiserweight, but he won't do it if he can get a bigger money fight against Dubois or Parker.
Usyk's dominance
“It was a wonderful performance. I am actually at a loss for (words) for this reason. I don't have much to say. He was an encyclopedia of boxing,” promoter Alex Krassyuk told iFL TVtalking about his fighter Oleksandr Usyk after his victory over Tyson Fury last Saturday night in Riyadh.
“In 12 rounds, he showed how to box. So he made it out of the basement. He was laying the bricks. By putting windows and a roof, they will create a building,” Krassyuk said of Usyk's performance.
“We have been fighting in our opponents' backyard since 2016. This is nothing new to us. It's a pleasant atmosphere. We got used to it.
“He'll probably relax, get his mind right and get back to training,” Krassyuk said when asked what Fury should do next. “He is a great champion. It's not about what I would like to see. It's about what the boxing world would like to see. If they're happy to see this fight, that's perfect.”
Fury will NOT retire because he wants to fight Anthony Joshua and you can understand that. There's a lot of money in him to face AJ, and that would help him redeem himself after losing back-to-back fights to Usyk.
“As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to see Usyk as the undisputed No. 3,” Krassyuk said, making it clear he wants to see Usyk face the winner of the Feb. 22 fight between IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker.
Turki Alalashikh also wants an undisputed fight between Usyk and the winner of Dubois vs. Parker, so he has no problem with that fight happening as long as something unforeseen happens. Anthony Joshua will not be a problem as he has shown no desire to fight Dubois in a rematch and knows better than to face Usyka a third time.
Fury's beard controversy
“It's not an issue that affects the outcome of the fight,” Krassyuk said when asked if Fury's chin was an issue for them in this fight. “It's just a formal matter whether we follow the rules or not. The rules say that the beard must be trimmed so that its volume does not affect the shot.
“Every organization has it, but it doesn't clarify the specific length of the beard, and for that reason you can't know the line where it comes from legal to illegal,” Krassyuk said.
Whether or not Fury's chin cushioned the impact of Usyk's punches enough to avoid injury is impossible to know. On several occasions, Fury's head rocked back and his eyes rolled over the whites as Usyk hit him hard. It is not known whether those shots would have done more damage if Fury had been clean-shaven. You'd still like to see Fury shave.
What will be interesting to see is if Fury chooses to shave rather than not fight. If he did, you have to believe he grew his beard to use it as a bulwark to protect him from blows.
