Oleksandr Usyk changes fight plans to include WBC mandatory challenger

Oleksandr Usyk may fight Agit Kabayel after all

Oleksandr Usyk has made a U-turn on his fight plans saying he might not face Tyson Fury for a third time and actually take on his WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel instead.

However, the two-weight undisputed champion insisted that he doesn’t have to fulfil any mandatories, and can do whatever he wants.

Usyk is preparing to fight kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven on May 26, then he declared he would fight the winner of Wardley vs Dubois, who fight on the same night. Then for his third and final fight, he revealed, “it’s my friend, greedy belly Tyson Fury.”

However, with the absence of WBC Interim champ Agit Kabayel causing quite a stir, the Ukrainian has backtracked slightly.

39-year-old Usyk told the Mail: “Maybe I will fight Kabayel – maybe I don’t face Tyson Fury for a third time and I fight Kabayel instead.

“I only say my plan but that is not set in stone. I understand the Agit fans are saying you must fight him, you must fight him. But I don’t have to fight him.

“I must live my life, I must look after my team, my children. As for fighting, I just work hard and my opponents work hard.

“Look, maybe it’s possible I fight Agit. All I can say is he’s a great fighter and he’s very smart.”

Fight fans have been quite vocal in their wishes to see Usyk accept the challenge of WBC Interim titlist Kabayel, who is unbeaten in 27 contests.

The undefeated German has beaten Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sánchez, Zhilei Zhang and Damian Knyba in his last four fights, all by knockout, thoroughly earning his shot at the world titles.

The general consensus from many boxing fans is that the Usyk-Fury trilogy is neither wanted nor needed. Their first fight in May 2024 was decided by a single moment in round nine when Tyson was held up by the ropes, correctly ruled as a knockdown. That 10-8 round swung the fight from a draw on the scorecards to a win for the Ukrainian.

In their December 2024 rematch, Fury got off to a bright start, but Usyk took over down the stretch and earned a unanimous decision victory. Because of that conclusive win in the rerun, a lot of fight fans have closed the door on the rivalry.

The other highly-ranked contender many supporters wish to see fight Usyk is England's Moses Itauma, who fights Jermain Franklin this weekend, March 28.

And, of course, there's one other world heavyweight champion, Fabio Wardley, who has the WBO strap. He defends his belt to Daniel Dubois in May. Usyk has voiced his acceptance to fight the winner, however, a third fight with Dubois is also unwanted, since Usyk has KO'd him twice already. Many would be interested in watching Usyk vs Wardley, however, but that could only happen if he wins his next fight.

Usyk could either face Dubois next, followed by Tyson, two Brits he has already beaten twice each, or he could end his career by fighting undefeated titlists, Wardley and Kabayel. The latter is very much the choice on everyone's wish list.

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