Turki Alalshikh is already looking beyond Saturday’s fight against Rico Verhoeven and reveals that Oleksandr Usyk could be another big event in Istanbul next year.
Alalshikh made the comments during Thursday’s final press conference in Egypt ahead of Usyk’s WBC heavyweight title defense against Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza. He stopped short of naming an opponent but hinted that plans are already underway for another showpiece event in 2027.
“I won’t bother to dream of someone beating him. I won’t think about that until I see what he has inside on Saturday,” Turki Alalshikh said of Usyk.
“We are planning for something to give Usyk in the future.
“We think, and I know he doesn’t want to talk about the future, but we plan, and I want to give a little secret. We plan to do something amazing in Istanbul. The people in Istanbul and the government in Istanbul to do something amazing next year.”
Fans on social media were quick to connect Turki’s Istanbul comments with undefeated WBC interim heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel, a German fighter with Turkish roots already positioned as Usyk’s mandatory challenger. Kabayel has repeatedly said he wants the winner of Saturday’s fight against Rico Verhoeven.
Usyk, who turns 40 in January, has said several times that he believes he only has a few fights left before retirement. He recently mentioned that he has “two, maybe three” fights left in his career.
Saturday’s event in Egypt is already being promoted as one of the most unusual settings in modern boxing, with Usyk and Verhoeven fighting under the Pyramids of Giza. Turki’s latest comments suggest the Istanbul event could follow the same blueprint of turning Usyk fights into global destination spectacles rather than standard title defences.
USYK IN ISTANBUL NEXT YEAR‼️
Turki Alalshikh announces that Oleksandr Usyk will fight in another special event in 2027 👀
Glory in Giza | 23 May | LIVE on DAZN 🥊 pic.twitter.com/rLYUjEL964
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) May 21, 2026
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Last updated on 2026/05/21 at 16:57
