Usyk Interview; Views on Wardley, Parker, Future Plans, Etc.

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by Cyrion, Dec 1, 2025 at 5:25 AM.


  1. miniq

    miniq AJ IS A BODYBUILDING BUM Full Member

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    Usyk is suffering post Fury clarity

    And when Fury AJ is the big fight of 2026 totally over shadowing whoever he fights he may go into a depression....

    On paper we need Wardley Kabayel early next year with the winner fighting Usyk. But even then casuals really aren't interested...

    Tough position to be in...
     
  2. Camps

    Camps Active Member Full Member

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    Well, even if at age 39 (?!) he's going to take a "keep busy" fight then he might as well help himself to one of the two Bridgerweight belts -- so at least he can add something to the record books. Would Kevin Lerena be more dangerous than Wilder?

    I suggested this on another thread and got blasted for suggesting Usyk waste his precious time on a no-$$ fight .... but how much $$ would he get for Wilder or Anderson or pretty much anyone other than Wardley or Kabayel or (please no) a trilogy fight...?
     
  3. Perkin Warbeck

    Perkin Warbeck Boxing aficionado Full Member

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    Usyk has never had a soft opponent in years, he's been fighting punchers and bigger men. He's fought all the very best at cruiserweight and heavyweight.

    I wouldn't mind him fighting Wilder in early 2026 - at this time, he should be fighting whoever he wants without criticism. He and Wilder are about the same age (39-40) and Wilder is a former WBC titleholder.

    I would like to see him fight TWICE in 2026 however, perhaps Wilder and then Kabayel.
    Fury is laying around, growing older and wasting the last years of his 30s, afraid of losing again, still terrified of Joshua.
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2025 at 9:37 AM
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  4. Dynamicpuncher

    Dynamicpuncher Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Gimme fights are more of a issue for Usyk because he holds all the belts and is only fighting once a year on average.

    If he was fighting 2 or 3 times a year then I could overlook the Wilder fight even though its a rubbish fight.

    But when Wilder a totally irrelevant fighter who's totally shot and 2-4 in his last 6 fights. Will be Usyk's only opponent in the last year then I'm more critical.
     
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  5. PrimoGT

    PrimoGT Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Champions might be entitled to "soft" or "gimme" fights, we could even stretch it and say at his age 39 he is allowed one now even if he's not very active ... and we can also pretend to forget that Daniel Dubois first time around was regarded as one of those "gimme mandatory" type fights .... etc

    But Wilder?
    he didn't just lose to Parker and Zhang, he was completely outclassed by them, he was in no way competitive, and that was 2 years ago, he was just about absolutely destroyed ruined in the 2nd and 3rd Fury fights back in 2020 and 2021 ...... and he's actually more than a year older than Usyk.

    Wilder at this point is worse than Chisora 2, possibly worse than Joe Joyce, as a "gimme". And, no, I'm not asking to see either of those two fights!
     
  6. Dynamicpuncher

    Dynamicpuncher Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Yeah this is true Dubois was not ranked in the top 10 prior to the 1st Usyk fight and he had recently been dropped 3 times in his last fight.

    Dubois was not seen as a dangerous opponent at the time.

    Credit for the Fury, Joshua, fights.

    But Dubois 1 was not considered a tough fight for Usyk and neither will Wilder be.

    And you're right the way Wilder has lost recently also impacts on it aswell.

    If Wilder had lost to Zhang, Parker, but knocked them down and been competitive then maybe you could legitimise this fight somewhat.

    But Wilder lost 12-0 to Parker.

    Wilder lost every round to Zhang and got highlight reel KO'ed early.

    Wilder has not beaten any top 10 ranked Heavyweights since 2019.

    People can be a fan of Usyk and still be honest this is a rubbish fight there's no two ways about it. Especially when a shot Wilder will be Usyk's only fight in the past year.
     
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  7. Glass 1/2 Empty

    Glass 1/2 Empty Member Full Member

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    Very disappointing. Wilder is done.

    If he's gonna fight such low caliber opponents, I'd rather he retired. We don't need another heavyweight champion with Fury type behaviour.
     
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  8. Pepsi Dioxide

    Pepsi Dioxide Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Have Wilder get a warmup before fighting Usyk, I recommend Kabayel :)
     
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  9. mrbigshot

    mrbigshot Active Member Full Member

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    Usyk is OBVIOUSLY looking only for zero risk fights , regardless how lousy and low pay they are .

    not money or legacy fights .

    Without a doubt wardley as a world title fight or kabayel as a world title fight would pay off way better than wilder at this stage. Legacy wise of course also but usyk avoids them
     
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  10. Oddone

    Oddone Bermane Stiverne's life coach. Full Member

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    This.
     
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  11. Serge

    Serge Ginger Dracula Staff Member

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    This is my take on this

    The Dosser categorically doesn't deserve a shot at The King but, that being said, he categorically deserves another ass whooping and Usyk deserves a soft touch and another huge payday at 39 y/o after a career of taking on the best B2B on a deck stacked against him and exemplary conduct in and out of the ring and I, for one, will never grow tired of watching The Dosser take a biblical shellacking

    I'd much rather see Usyk fight someone else but he's always wanted to slap The Dosser up and his name on his CV and it's just a pit stop and then it will be back to business and if not he can vacate the belts and just fight the big money fights

    The Dosser is tight with Turki and so is Jared Anderson so I suspect he might have something to do with this also

    How many soft touches or softer touches did all the other HW champs have, let alone at 39 y/o? Exactly
     
  12. Dubblechin

    Dubblechin Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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  13. Ice8Cold

    Ice8Cold The Hype Job Spotter. Full Member

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    I’d agree with the above that Usyk doesn’t really need to prove himself, and that he shouldn’t get too much criticism for fighting a soft touch considering his recent track record, his age, and his P4P status. Its not exactly like there is really a proper challenger either - no disrespect to Wardley.

    Usyk V Wilder. It really doesn’t get much more boxer v puncher, and this should be pretty one sided.
     
  14. Barrf

    Barrf Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Kabayel would put Wilder in the hospital at this point.
     
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  15. catchwtboxing

    catchwtboxing Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    I honestly don't know how to feel about it. I wanted Usyk to have a performative stage of his career where he was fighting guys like Wilder, Pereira, and Ruiz, but after fighting Parker and maybe Kabayal. But then, Parker not only managed to lose to Wardley, but also got himself a cocaine ban. That hypothetically leaves Wardley as the "it" guy...except that I, like a majority of fans, didn't really think Wardely won it without some British cooking.

    But surely Kabayel deserves his chance. I will say this...I am good with the Wilder fight, but at this point, he should fight Kabayel or surrender the WBC strap.