Before agreeing to a rematch with former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, whom he defeated in May, Oleksandr Usyk talked about returning to cruiserweight, where he was the unified champion.
With new unified super-lightweight champion Artur Beterbiev picking up a narrow majority decision victory over WBA champion Dimitrii Bivol, he talked about moving up to cruiserweight.
Few people know that Beterbiev, 78-8, fought Usyk, 70-12, in the amateurs in the quarterfinals of the AIBA World Championship in October 2011. Usyk took a decision win on his way to win the tournament .
In August 2012, they had a rematch, with Usyk winning again, ending Beterbiev’s amateur career. It was at the London Olympic trials that Usyk eventually won the Gold Medal.
Usyk then went 7-0 in the World Series of Boxing, including a win over Joe Joyce in the fourth round in London.
Usyk, 22-0 with 14 stoppages, will meet Fury, 34-1-1 with 24 stoppages, again on December 21 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
Although boxing fans would love to see a rematch between Beterbiev and Bivol, Beterbiev may be forced to fight the No. 1 contender. 1 for his IBF title. At 39, how many fights does he have left in him? Usyk, at 37, is right behind him.
Usyk last fought at cruiserweight, defeating Tony Bellew, 30-2-1, in November 2018 at the Manchester Arena. Entering the heavyweight division, he will defeat the WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO champion Anthony ‘AJ’ Joshua twice. Then, in his last fight before defeating Fury, he defeated Daniel Dubois, 19-1, by KO in August 2023.
The fans want a rematch between Bivol and Beterbiev, with many, including this writer, feeling that Bivol deserved the decision. It may happen in 2025, with Beterbiev first defending against someone else. Where does this leave Bivol, you may ask?
For Usyk to defeat Fury and return to cruiserweight, he would be a favorite to regain those titles. Beterbiev may have several fights at lightweight before moving up to cruiserweight if he wins those fights, which could lead to a possible rematch with Usyk.
