Oleksandr Usyk wants to fight three times before retiring - including a "freak" showdown with Canelo Alvarez.
The Ukrainian star recorded his second consecutive victory over Anthony Joshua last month in Saudi Arabia to retain his unified heavyweight titles. It was expected Usyk would take on Tyson Fury for all the marbles, with talks having been held prior to his win.
However it appears Usyk will have to wait before getting the shot at all the belts, with Fury set to instead defend his titles against Joshua. The 35-year-old hopes that he will still be able to step in the ring with either the WBC champion or Alvarez in the future , but would like the final fight of his career to be staged in his home country of Ukraine. “I can have three more fights at the very most," Usyk told Parimatch when discussing plans for his future in boxing.
"It is the most realistic to be in my top form. With Fury, Canelo and a farewell fight at Olympiyskiy. With Canelo he said that he wanted to fight me. It would be a freak fight just for the sake of earning money. People say I’m a freak. Why not? I mean it is just for money with Canelo.
"I only need to beat Fury and then it is time to retire for me. The unification of all the belts is much more important than just a fight or another defence. I want to outbox Fury and I don't want to work that much just for another defence. There is much more that I can achieve."
Alvarez recently defeated Gennady Golovkin in a trilogy at 168lb and has twice fought at 175lb where he most recently fell to defeat against Dmitry Bivol back in May. However the Mexican star has previously discussed his ambitions to take the biggest challenges possible, and even proposed a move to heavyweight where Usyk has been plying his trade since moving up as undisputed cruiserweight champion.
Who would win if the pair meet - Oleksandr Usyk or Canelo Alvarez? Let us know in the comments section below
He is expected to be out of action until next year having suffered a hand injury which would delay a potential clash with Usyk until 2024. And his current promoter Eddie Hearn stated that Alvarez believes he could beat Usyk if the fight is made one pound above the 200lb cruiserweight limit. “When we talk about mindset and winning, he genuinely believes he can beat Oleksandr Usyk for the world heavyweight title," he revealed.
"He said to me ‘if you can make that fight at one pound above cruiserweight [200lbs] I will beat him'. I find it hard not to believe him. Sometimes, the only way someone like Canelo Alvarez or Vasyl Lomachenko gets beat is when they keep moving up in weight outside of where they should be. That’s maybe how Canelo Alvarez gets beat, (when) it’s a challenge too far.”
