Oleksandr Usyk talks up shock fight with feared champion at old weight

Oleksandr Usyk has talked up a showdown with feared cruiserweight champion David Benavidez, in a shocking potential next move.After surviving a scare against kickboxing icon Rico Verhoeven in the boxing ring in May, Usyk vacated the unified heavyweight titles and claimed his next bout would be his last.Now, however, the unbeaten Ukrainian has suggested he might have an extra fight in him, with the second of those two contests ideally coming against Benavidez.Oleksandr Usyk pictured in July (Getty)The Mexican-American is an undefeated three-weight champion, but his most-recent successes have come at cruiserweight, where he holds the WBA and WBO belts. Benavidez, 29, picked up the titles by dominating and stopping Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in six rounds in May, having taken apart Anthony Yarde at light-heavyweight in his previous bout.Usyk is a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion, but he made his name at cruiserweight, where he became the only undisputed champion of the four-belt era. The 39-year-old was expected to round out his career at heavyweight, potentially against former champion Deontay Wilder, but he seems adamant about a surprising weight-cut to his old division.“Because I cleaned out the heavyweight [division] and [want to go] back to my weight,” Usyk told The Ring on Saturday. “Yes, correct, [I want to fight the best version of Benavidez]. “Right now, I weigh 96 or 97 kg [211-213lb]. If I have an opportunity at cruiserweight, I am back. It’s a big fight because Benavidez is a big champion. Me, a little bit, too?”Also at the weekend, Usyk’s team director Sergey Lapin told Casinostugan: “First, we are looking at a fight for a vacant world title. Then, the goal is to face David Benavidez to unify all the belts and become undisputed cruiserweight champion.David Benavidez dismantled Gilberto Ramirez in stunning fashion in May (Getty)“We see 2027 as the final chapter of his career. He wants to finish as undisputed champion in the division where he first won all the belts. If we’re going to do this, we need to take a comprehensive approach. The first fight for a world title, the second for the undisputed championship.“Usyk has never been a natural heavyweight; cruiserweight is his home. He loves a challenge, so he moved up, cleaned out the heavyweight division, and now he is coming home to restore order.”While Benavidez holds the WBA and WBO straps, Michal Cieslak owns the WBC title and will box the “Mexican Monster” in a unification fight in December. Meanwhile, the IBF title remains vacant after Jai Opetaia was stripped of the gold.Rico Verhoeven protesting the stoppage of his fight with Usyk (Getty)Usyk’s heavyweight-title fight with Verhoeven, at the pyramids of Giza in Egypt, proved highly controversial. The kickboxer was seemingly on track for a decision win when he was dropped and stopped in round 11, but the stoppage – which was widely deemed premature – was not the only controversy; the official scorecards were later revealed to be much closer than viewers expected.