Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, says he’d like to see him right for the undisputed championship next following his 12-round unanimous decision win over Tyson Fury in their rematch last Saturday night.
They’ll have to wait for the winner of the February 22nd match between IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker before negotiations can begin for an undisputed championship contest with Usyk (23-0, 12 KOs).
Usyk says he’s open to any fight, and it’ll be up to Turki Alalshikh if he wants him to fight the Dubois-Parker winner. Oleksandr doesn’t have anyone else to fight, and that would be a huge one for him at a heavyweight. He’s talked about wanting to move down to cruiserweight, but he’s not going to do that if he can get a bigger money fight against Dubois or Parker.
Usyk’s Dominance
“It was a beautiful performance. I’m actually out of [words] for this reason. I haven’t got much to say. He was an encyclopedia of boxing,” said promoter Alex Krassyuk to iFL TV, talking about his fighter Oleksandr Usyk following his win over Tyson Fury last Saturday night in Riyadh.
“In 12 rounds, he showed how boxing is conducted. So, he made it from the basement. He was putting the bricks. Putting windows and the roof, and he will have created the building,” said Krassyuk about Usyk’s performance.
“We’ve been fighting in the backyards of our opponents since 2016. That’s nothing new to us. That’s a comfortable atmosphere. We got used to it.
“Probably relax, recuperate his mind, and come back to training,” said Krassyuk when asked what Fury should do next. “He’s a great champion. It’s not about what I would like to see. It’s about what the world of boxing would like to see. If they’re happy to see this fight, it’s perfect.”
Fury is NOT going to retire because he wants to fight Anthony Joshua, and you can understand that. There’s a lot of money in it for him to face AJ, and it would help him redeem himself after losing back-to-back fights against Usyk.
“For me, I would love to see Usyk undisputed #3,” said Krassyuk, making it clear that he wants to see Usyk face the winner of the February 22nd contest between IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker.
Turki Alalashikh also wants the undisputed fight between Usyk and the Dubois vs. Parker winner, so there’s no problem making that fight happen as long as something unforeseen occurs. Anthony Joshua won’t be an issue because he’s shown no desire to fight 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 result of the fight,” said Krassyuk when asked if Fury’s beard was an issue for them in this fight. “It’s just a formal thing of whether we comply with the rules or not. The rules say that the beard has to be trimmed so that its volume does not affect the punch.
“Every organization has that, but it doesn’t clarify the specific length of the beard, and for this reason, you can’t know the limit where it’s coming from legal to illegal,” said Krassyuk.
It’s impossible to know whether Fury’s beard cushioned the impact of Usyk’s punches enough for him to avoid getting hurt or not. On a couple of occasions, Fury’s head rocked back, and his eyes rolled over white when hit hard by Usyk. Whether those shots would done more damage if Fury had been clean-shaven is unknown. You’d still like to have seen Fury shave.
What will be interesting to see is whether Fury chooses to shave no that he’s not fighting. If he does, you have to believe that he grew his beard to use it as a fortification to protect him from the punches.
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