World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk says he only has a couple of fights left before he hangs up the gloves for good, and he wants one of them to be against a reigning UFC champion.
With a resume that has seen him become undisputed champion of the world at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, Usyk is now plotting the endgame for his boxing career, and sees a crossover fight with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira as a fun fight to have before he calls time on his legendary career.
Usyk was doing the media rounds this week and sat down on the London Eye in England to chat with both ESPN and TNT Sports Boxing, with his interview with the latter seeing him drop the huge news that he'd like to face Pereira.
The Ukrainian superstar was asked who he wanted his final two fights to be against, and the unified heavyweight champion immediately referenced the upcoming IBF heavyweight title bout between champion Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker, which takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 22.
But then he mentioned a "show fight" with Pereira as he revealed his interest, as well as "Poatan's".
"First is who wins the next fight on 22 February," Usyk.
"Next, maybe a 'show fight' with Alex Pereira. Maybe. Why not? Alex wants to."
A bout between Usyk and Pereira would offer little in the way of size discrepancy, with Pereira cutting weight to make 205 pounds for his light heavyweight title fights in the UFC.
Usyk, who weighed in at 226 pounds for his last fight with Tyson Fury, would also concede one inch in height and one inch in reach to the Brazilian striker.
A crossover fight would give Pereira the chance to test his skills in a third sport. The Brazilian captured kickboxing world titles at middleweight and light heavyweight with GLORY Kickboxing, then switched to MMA and won UFC championships at middleweight and light heavyweight to become a two-sport, two-division world champion.
While a matchup with Usyk would likely be either an exhibition bout or a regular, non-title bout, it would offer the opportunity for Pereira to test his boxing against a future Hall of Famer who has captured undisputed gold in boxing's two heaviest weight classes.
Remarkably, and somewhat strangely, Usyk's comment about a possible fight with Pereira didn't draw a follow-up from the interviewer, who continued the interview by asking about a possible fight with Dubois.
"I think it's a bad idea to make (a rematch with) Daniel, because Daniel has a future fight," Usyk said.
"He says, 'Hey, listen! I want a rematch!' Please, make work on February 22. If you win, (you're) welcome."
Usyk also suggested that, despite Tyson Fury's recent retirement, "The Gypsy King" might not be done with boxing just yet.
"I think no, because Tyson's a great man, a showman," said Usyk.
"Maybe, but I think Tyson, a little bit [of] rest with his family, drink beer, and back in the ring. I think."
- Simon Head, Newsweek
No comments:
Post a Comment