Who should Usyk fight before he retires?

Fury and Joshua probably get locked into two fights. He'll be almost 40 waiting for them.

 

There are several good contenders out there.

The only good current contender Usyk has defeated is Dubois, but Dubois has a better string of wins SINCE that loss, than any fighter Usyk has faced yet at heavyweight, so a rematch is viable.

Parker's recent form is better than Fury's or Joshua's too.
Kabayel, Zhang, Bakole, Ajagba. All set to fight.

Most of these are more credible in 2025 than bigger 'names' like Fury are.

Look beyond the hype and ask what fighters have actually done.

Usyk got a shot at Joshua after a win over Chisora. And a lot of people doubted Usyk could beat Joshua. There are several fighters out there who have beat Chisora or more than that, and still waiting for their shots.
But stupid fans and media pretend they don't exist. Then say a guy who struggles with Ngannou is still the most credible opponent of the moment. It's all BS.

 

Need to put an end to the constant rematches imo. Fury v joshua the winner gets usyk. Not that either of them deserve a rematch with usyk he just pretty much has no one left to beat and wants to fight on.

 

If Joshua had defeated Makhmudov and Sanchez in non-title fights the whole boxing media and fan base would be saying he's light years ahead of almost everyone and deserves another shot. Well, actually, they were virtually saying that after he beat Wallin and Ngannou!

It's stupid. Fury's done virtually **** all in the past 3 years and was humiliated against Ngannou but people acting like Usyk beating him over 12 rounds is legendary stuff.

If Fury had smashed Jared Anderson inside 5 rounds it would be hailed as a great win. But he took on 37 year old MMA Ngannou and looked **** instead. Meanwhile people act like Martin Bakole doesn't exist in comparison to "the big names".

Proper young (or not so young in Zhang's case) big heavyweight contenders fighting legitimate fights with one another are dismissed as irrelevant, but the great Usyk beat some cruisers and Chisora and got his shot, now it's deemed acceptable for him to 'not bother' facing these contenders.

The form book doesn't lie.
Unfortunately the boxing media and fans do.

 

Would Wilder like to do something nice for the sport before retiring? Because we’d like if he’d knock Paul’s head off. Do it, champ.

 

And Parker beat both of them.

Parker deserves a shot long before the overhyped old Chinese.

 

If Usyk fights (and beats - which is certainly not guaranteed) the Dubois-Parker winner, the Zhang-Kabayel winner, Bakole etc. over the next 18 months, he obviously adds to his heavyweight and overall legacy, but not in the same way the AJ and Fury duologies did among casual fans and maybe even future boxing scholars. What's more, if he loses to any of these guys, it will taint his legacy perhaps more than beating them would add to it. Usyk is in a similar position to Lewis after the Holyfield win, maybe Ali after the Thrilla and maybe even another Alexander after the Darius rematch. Likewise losing a competitive decision to Opetaia would also harm his claim to be the cruiserweight GOAT. There's nothing wrong with losing a fight or two at heavyweight, because many of the greats did throughout their careers, but it would hurt Usyk's own unique run. I don't think Usyk cares about his 'O' as much as his fans do, but it is an inseparable part of his greatness as things currently stand