So who should Usyk fight next?

Somebody tall and plodding.

 

Ortiz, Povetkin or Ruiz. I think those guys would be good. All 3 are very skilled, not super heavyweights.

 

From a fans perspective and with the WBO rankings in mind. I would love him to face the winner of Joyce vs Dubois.

Who is he most likely to face next? Ruiz Jr OR Possibly Pulev (depending on how well he does against AJ).

I think Dubois causes him a lot of problems and it is an exciting fight.

I am not interested in Ruiz Jr as a fight. Pulev could be interesting but it does depend on how he does against AJ.

 

Helenius and Bakole would be backward steps.
Helenius was a contender YEARS ago, and even then he needed a gift to get past Chisora. He's a relic from a decade ago. People seem to have got excited about him since he knocked that fat kid out.
Bakole is mostly unproven, hasn't really moved into the upper tiers since Hunter stopped him.

I'd hope Usyk fights someone a lot better than that.

Parker is acceptable.
The winner of Povetkin-Whyte 2 is acceptable.
Wilder perhaps, but that won't happen.
Hunter again, is acceptable.
I'd even say Hughie Fury or Agit Kabayel or Oscar Rivas.

 

The dubois/joyce winner or the whyte/povetkin winner.

He will want AJ, hes not gonna hang around and risk a loss when hes mandatory, bit like tyson he might choose to fight a bum or two whilst he waits for AJ.

If pulev beats AJ however i think it will almost certainly be usyk vs pulev with the winner to unify against fury.

 

Whoever it is, it should be for the WBO title.

If AJ drops his WBO title then.. The winner of Dubois/Joyce, why not? Dubois is ranked just behind Usyk in the WBO rankings I believe, so he has to be at least asked and I will assume if Joyce wins he will take that ranking?

Usyk just needs to get his shot now, he can't wait until summer 2022 for a shot, that's unacceptable.

But I have a feeling the WBO will allow AJ to fight Fury next summer ONCE, if they (Fury AJ) insist there is a rematch straight away, then the rematch would have to be without the WBO.

 

It would be great if Dubois beats Joyce and then beats Usyk for the WBO.
It seems a bit like they are trying to rush him with that rating. But if he wins and his promoter chooses to take that chance, I'd love to see someone young like Dubois crash the big time.

 

Povetkin-Whyte II winner, Parker, Wilder or Ruiz. I like those options before he faces one of the champs. Should he beat any one, two or all of those, he'll deserve the title shot and he'll and we'll know enough about him at the weight to have a good gauge in how he'll do.

 

I think he should fight AJ now. The reason is that if AJ strings some wins together he'll get far more confident and aggressive. At the moment he might still be a little gunshy/cautious and therefore Usyk may be under less physical pressure and keep the fight where he wants it. If Chisora can size-bully him, a small fat HW, then AJ could do a lot of damage if he went ultra aggressive. I think that will be a popular gameplan at HW because they know Uysk will outbox them and it'll be the only way.

Also, Usyk is approaching middle-age and his speed and stamina are going to decline. Injuries will add up. Since he's not a KO-artist, when that happens he's in trouble at HW. He doesn't want to be fighting AJ at 35+, does he? He surely knows all this which is why he's saying he wants the fight now.

 

I don't see any way Fury vs Joshua happens next year. Wilder is going use that rematch clause to sabotage his career by the looks of things. Fury might not even have that fight in December if Wilder does what he says and hits him with legal papers. Wilder is on a mission to destroy this man for giving him a fair and honest beatdown.

So with all that in the way there may not be anything stopping Usyk forcing Joshua to make a mandatory defence after Pulev. Thats a great fight in itself and pretty evenly matched imo.
Usyk has the skill and footwork , Joshua has the size range and the skills to use it. A great fight for the sport

 

I'd be fine with anyone in the Ring top-8. Ortiz would be good.

 

Whyte
Povetkin
Parker

 

Shyte, just to shut him up (wont work of course, but at least Wilder would have some real competition for Most Absurd Excuses Diamond Belt).