If he carries on, should Usyk just take the Zuffa belt and abandon the ABCs?

Nah. Zuffa is gonna flop I reckon, especially with an ego-maniac like Dana involved.

 

A Rico rematch and Ruiz would make sense for Usyk as cashout fights. Ruiz would be a decent name on his record as well.

 

The fans will riot if he pulls that ****

 

Doesn't matter tho to Uysk at his stage of his career
It's take the money and not worry about Zuffas future

 

Correction - Kabayel or retire IMO. Nothing else is gonna salve the damage to his legacy the Rico fight has done. In fact, I think he's got himself into the position that a last huzzah and awesome performance against Kabayel is his only recourse (outside of Ituama, and Warren won't allow that yet IMO) - retiring after that Rico fight leaves him in a similar state as Lennox Lewis after Vitali.He's now damned if he does (fight Kabayel and lose) or damned if he doesn't (retire). ANY other fight than Kabayel IMO is gonna raise too many questions on ducking and all the rest

 

Not sure that’s a good idea, because what big fights can Zuffa offer Usyk? The money wouldn’t be big enough for Usyk, and there’s not many fights now for him that would generate broad interest from fans

 

Maybe? But at this stage, the money is still in the main orgs and old promotions. Until that changes, Usyk stays.

 

I disagree, he’s a 40 yo man for goodness sake. Do you really think 2026 usyk beats 2019 usyk? His legacy is secure regardless of what happens at this stage. He should fight kabayel or drop the wbc though.

 

If he's just gonna stagnate the division fighting a kickboxer again or refuse to fight the fights the fans actually want to see then yeah, Zuffa or retire. Fighters, and I mean all fighters, need to be made to keep the sport moving. Since winning the heavyweight titles 5 years ago, only AJ, Dubois, Fury and Verhoeven have had the opportunity to fight for his belts. Ok, it's not his fault he had to rematch AJ and Fury contractually, but fighting once or twice a year just isn't good enough.

Imagine being the number 2 or 3 ranked contender in one of the orgs 5 years ago and never getting an opportunity to fight for the belt because the champion only fights once or twice a year. You age out waiting for your shot, fighting lesser names and not earning the big bucks or getting any recognition because you dont get your shot, while the world glazes the guy who you feel you could beat but who won't fight you because you don't have a big enough name because you haven't had your title shot. Makes a mockery of the sport, particularly when genuine boxing contenders get leapfrogged by someone from a different sport just for the novelty factor.

 

Usyk has done enough damage to the sport as it is don't give him any more ideas.

 

The way the Zuffa grift works is they would convince the Zuffa people whoever's fighting him is the premier world class competition. This is what they did in MMA way back in the day.

Usyk is 39 so sooner or later someone else on the Zuffa roster will beat him. Then they will hype that person up as the "real champion" while letting him fight a closed roster.

 

I'm not talking about my personal opinion, just the perception and narrative.

 

If the money is there then...

 

Conner Benn shows otherwise

Zuffa have bundles available for the right fighters

Now is the time for older fighters to capitalise on them before they probably disappear

Younger ones too I guess

I mean it's strongly rumoured Haney is going to sign with them and that's because they need name recognition right now and have to over pay to get it

Haney ain't getting what he believes he is worth from anyone else