Oleksandr Usyk’s adviser, Serhii Lapin, says he will return to the ring in the first half of 2026 and defend his undisputed heavyweight championship against the winner of Saturday’s fight between WBO interim champion Joseph Parker and WBA interim belt holder Fabio Wardley.
Rehab done, fire lit again
Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) has rehabbed his injured back, and he’s finally feeling better. He wanted to get his WBO mandatory out of the way against whoever emerged victorious in the fight between Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) and Wardley (19-0-1, 18 KOs) on DAZN PPV on October 25th.
Parker vs. Wardley: Usyk’s next target
“I spoke to Usyk’s adviser, Serhii Lapin, and he said: ‘Maybe five more fights with Usyk over that period.’ Now he’s looking at the first half of 2026 against the winner of this Saturday’s battle between Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley,” commented Mike Coppinger InsideRingShow about Oleksandr Usyk’s next expected fight.
Usyk recently revealed that he plans to fight until he is 41, which is three years away. Five more fights is an ambitious number, given his injury problems. Whether Oleksandr gets through a five-fight gauntlet will depend on who he faces. Tyson Fury will be less grueling than fighting the Parker-Wardley winner or defending against Moses Itauma.
Back strong, mind sharper
“It’s going to be WBO mandatory that Parker was ordered to fight Usyk in July, but Usyk has a back injury,” Coppinger said. “He’s feeling good now,” Lapin said. He’s just finished rehab and he’s in great shape.”
The fight in which Usyk (38) is not interested at the moment is against 20-year-old Moses Itauma. Lapin told The Ring via Mike Coppinger that Itauma has not been tested against anyone, and has yet to go 12 rounds in a fight.
Queensberry’s protected prospect
It makes sense. Protected fairly well by his promoters at Queensberry, Itauma didn’t have much of an amateur career, fighting low-level opposition without ever being stepped up.
Usyk will be doing Itauma and his promoters a favor by fighting him rather than it being something that will increase his status. As Itauma says, “It’s a win-win” for himself. He loses nothing by getting beaten because he has aging and inexperienced excuses to fall back on.
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Last updated on 20/10/2025
