Oleksandr Usyk reveals plans for next two fights after Rico Verhoeven
Oleksandr Usyk reveals his three-fight plan
Unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) took to social media to confirm the next three fights of his professional boxing career.
Usyk said, "Listen, Rico... this is first.
"Second, it's who win [out of] Wardley or Dubois.
"Third fight, it's my friend greedy belly Tyson Fury."
Usyk is a two weight, three-time undisputed champion, now aged 39. His next fight has caused a lot of controversy, as he has chosen to defend his WBC world heavyweight championship to a kickboxer, Rico Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KO), who has only had one professional bout, 12 years ago.
The unlikely duo are going to be fighting on May 23 in the vicinity of the Great Pyramid of Giza, which is the only surviving one of seven ancient wonders of the world. The Riyadh Season event will be streamed live on DAZN PPV.
Two weeks prior, the only other world heavyweight champion, Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs), defends his WBO belt to fellow Briton, Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs).
Usyk vacated the WBO belt in December 2025 when he opted not to fulfil his mandatory duties and defend against the WBO Interim champ, Wardley. The Ukrainian was recovering from an injury and looking to rest after back to back bouts with Tyson Fury in 2024 and big stadium show against Daniel Dubois in the summer of 2025.
In Usyk's last six fights, he has defeated heavyweight giants, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois twice each.
Fighting the winner of Wardley-Dubois would be welcomed by fight fans only if the winner is Wardley. Many fans have been quite vocal about not needing to see the trilogy with Dubois or Fury either. Usyk has KO'd Dubois in seven and five rounds over their two meetings.
His first win over Fury was on a knife-edge, decided by a single point on the scorecards, but then he dominated most of the rematch to win unanimously.
His first victory over AJ was very one-sided, but the rematch was split on the scorecards, as Joshua made clear improvements and adjustments in the rerun. However, Usyk was still a clear winner, but the contest was unarguably a lot closer than fight one.
The WBC Interim heavyweight champion, Agit Kabayel (27-0, 19 KOs), has been left out of the list, which may not be allowed, as the WBC confirmed that he is next in line. If Usyk wants to keep his green and gold belt, then he will be forced to fight the unbeaten German next. But, after winning all the marbles at cruiserweight, then twice at heavyweight, he may not be too concerned about holding onto certain world titles if it goes against his plans.
Usyk's desire to fight the winner of Wardley-Dubois may suggest that he is looking to emulate Muhammad Ali to become a three-time undisputed heavyweight champion, further securing his legacy in boxing.
