There appear to be 7 paths he could take now: A retread with somebody he's already clearly beaten once if not twice (Fury/Joshua/Dubois III, or Hunter/Gassiev/Chisora II) Jacob Joseph "The Problem Child" Paul (perhaps the biggest moneymaker, unfortunately, farcical though it would be) Ağıt "The Big Puma" Kabayel (as @Rumsfeld says here, probably the biggest threat h2h stylistically) Joseph Dennis "Explosive/Lupesoloai La'auli Ole Mālietoa" Parker (as Rummy says in the above video, probably the most deserving of a shot) Enriko Moses "The Wrecking Ball" Itauma (Turki's choice; provided Whyte doesn't upset the apple cart next week) Another unbeaten heavyweight with a strong amateur pedigree (Wardley/Torrez Jr./Jalolov/Dychko etc) Somebody without a strong amateur pedigree and/or intact zero but with a Big 4 top fifteen world ranking (Hrgović/Ajagba/Sánchez Faure/Bakole/Huni/Zhāng/Pulev/Miller/Anderson/Wilder/Okolie) #1 and #2 would, needless to say, not endear him to fans, as they represent the groan-inducing path of least resistance and the biggest sellout choice / flagrant slap in the face of the sport respectively. #3 and #4 would probably most endear him to most fans, as many share Rummy's view that Parker is the most deserving and Kabayel the 2nd most (with Kabayel in turn probably the biggest h2h risk and Parker the 2nd biggest among ranked contenders). Taking on either of these guys - especially Parker as his WBO mandatory - feels like the "right thing" for Usyk to do, the goodguy move. #5 might honestly be the biggest single payday out there besides the Paul farce (or maybe Fury III at Wembley if the fans can be snookered in by another round of empty trash-talk from Greedy Belly), if Turki puts his money where his mouth is and really loosens the purse-strings for the Itauma bout. #6 or #7 would be...fine, I guess, as it'd be par for the course of most other titlists in most divisions (just take on guys ranked top 15 by some body or another, regardless of whether they are the best or remotely challenging) but it would be a very disappointing way to wind down his career. Especially with #3 and #4 dangling as options. In terms of legacy I guess #6 would be slightly preferable to #7 - and either IMO would be preferable to #1 and #2.
Usyk has enough money. He doesn’t need to fight Paul and disgrace boxing. He should fight Parker and Kabayel and call it a career.
I would prefer Kabayel ideally, or Parker. Unfortunately I think those are two of the least likely next paths because Turki seemingly has zero interest in those fights, and wants Itauma (bizarrely) or Fury 3. And at the end of the day Turki’s checkbook talks.
If he has to have one more then it has to be Parker imo. If he doesn’t, while it still might not necessarily be a justified accusation, some people might view him as having sidestepped a required stone that he left unturned. However, if Olek fights Parker, wins and then rides off into the sunset, I can’t see any room whatsoever for any complaints.
It's on Youtube today that Fury says he's going to stay retired. That probably means he's coming back. Anyway, I see seven possibilities which I can't split. 1. Fights Parker. Why not if no Fury? 2. Retires 3. Purely performative match--Alex Peirera or something 4. Wardley- the only major Brit he hasn't faced and a money fight 5. The Ukraine homecoming fight (if the current situation allows) Possibly against Chisora 6. They give Fury truckloads on money. 7. Ituama in a farce if he does well against Whyte 8. Intricate scenerio...Usyk picks 3-7 and lets Parker be elevated to full WBO champ and defend against Ituama. He gets the winner for 3-time undisputed heavy. My preference is 1, 2 and 8 are good 3 and 4 are not bad, as long as everyone knows the exhibition is his swan song and the end 5, 6 and 7 are horrible
Kabayel is the only one who deserves it. Otherwise, I would like him to take the Itauma fight as he is a serious talent and an unknown. We have all had enough of the previous era of fighters double and triple dipping and refusing to go away. The likes of Fury, AJ, and Wilder are old hat and should not be in any conversation.
I obviously have a preference for Kabayel and/or Parker. To me, those are the only 2 "worthy" to challenge him right now. That said, Usyk can do whatever he wants at this point. I'll be tuning in, and surely he's earned himself a soft touch if he so desires, especially if he gets an offer he can't refuse.
If people keep giving chisora these shots one day he's going to win one, even if just by injury. If Usyk wants an easy fight he needs to retire. He should go watch Fury - Wallin and see how stay-busy fights go wrong. If he wants to carry on, he's better off fighting a top opponent so that if he slips up it doesn't ruin his entire legacy.
Lets face it, Usyk has only one option now if he wants to fight and thats Joseph Parker. Kabayel probably next in line but really hope he fights a decent enough fighter in the meantime as Usyk could very well retire after the Parker fight.
Not if he fights him in the cage after retiring first. I think that's what the Usyk camp is working on now according to Lapin.
it’s only a disgrace if he puts in a Fury v Ngannou like performance, if Usyk finishes him early and without trouble then good on him getting the easy bag.
Given the context of my post and this thread, we are talking about his next boxing opponent. Jake Paul has zero business getting a unified title shot over any other active heavyweight. Usyk would lose almost all respect from me in an instant if he took that fight, and it's a spit in the face to the sport. If he wants some weird gimmicky cage match? Retire.