Oleksandr Usyk's promoter Alex Krasyuk says he would like to see him suit up for the undisputed championship following his 12-round unanimous decision win over Tyson Fury in their rematch last Saturday night.
They will have to wait for the winner of the February 22 bout between IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker before negotiations begin for an undisputed championship bout with Usyk (23-0, 12 KOs).
Usyk says he's open to any fight, and it will be up to Turki Al Sheikh if he wants him to fight the winner of Dubois-Parker. Oleksandr has no one else to fight, and that would be a big deal for him at heavyweight. He has talked about wanting to move up to the cruiserweight level, but he won't do so if he can get a bigger fight against Dubois or Parker.
Usyk's dominance
“It was a beautiful performance. I'm already out of (words) for that reason. I don't have much to say. He was an encyclopedia of boxing,” promoter Alex Krasiuk told Reuters. EFL TVHe spoke about his fighter, Oleksandr Usyk, after his victory over Tyson Fury last Saturday night in Riyadh.
“In 12 rounds, he showed how to run boxing. So, he made it from the basement. He was laying bricks. He put in the windows and the roof, and he would be the one who created the building,” Krasiuk said of Usyk's performance.
“We have been fighting in our opponents' backyards since 2016. This is nothing new for us. This is a relaxed atmosphere. We are used to it.
“Maybe he will relax, get his mind back and get back to training,” Krasiuk said when asked what Fury should do next. “He's a great champion. It's not about what I want to see. It's about what the boxing world wants to see. If they're happy to see this fight, that's perfect.”
Fury is not retiring because he wants to fight Anthony Joshua, and you can understand that. There's a lot of money for him to face AJ, and it will help him redeem himself after losing two straight fights against Usyk.
“For me, I would like to see Usyk undisputed No. 3,” Krasiuk said, explaining that he wants to see Usyk face the winner of the February 22 bout between IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker.
Turki Alashik also wants the undisputed fight between Usyk and the winner of Dubois vs. Parker, so there is no problem with this fight happening as long as something unexpected happens. Anthony Joshua will not be a problem as he has shown no desire to have a rematch with Dubois and knows better than to face Usyk a third time.
Fury's beard controversy
“It's not an issue that affects the outcome of the fight,” Krasyuk said when asked if Fury's beard would be an issue for them in this fight. “It's just a formal thing about whether we stick to the rules or not. The rules state that the beard must be cut so that its size does not affect the punch.
“Every organization has it, but they don't state the exact length of the beard, and because of that, you can't tell at what point a beard goes from legal to illegal,” Krasiuk said.
It is impossible to know whether Fury's beard softened the impact of Usyk's punches enough to avoid getting hurt. On several occasions, Fury's head snapped back, and his eyes turned white when Usyk hit him hard. It is not known whether those shots would have caused more damage if Fury had been clean-shaven. Still want to see Fury shave.
What will be interesting to see is if Fury chooses to shave his hair since he's not fighting. If he did, you'd have to believe he grew a beard to use it as a bulwark to protect him from punches.
