Before Oleksandr Usyk agreed to return to cruiserweight, where he was the unified champion, after a rematch with former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, whom he defeated in May.
With new unified super light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev coming off a narrow majority decision victory over WBA champion Dimitrii Bivol, he has talked about moving up to cruiserweight.
Few people know that Beterbiev, 78-8, Usyk, 70-12, fought in the amateurs in the quarterfinals of the AIBA World Championships in October 2011. Usyk has a decisive victory on his way to winning the tournament.
In August 2012, they had a rematch, with Usyk again winning, ending Beterbiev’s amateur career. It was in the London Olympic trials that Usyk finally won the gold medal.
Then Usyk went 7-0 in the World Series of Boxing, including a win over Joe Joyce in the fourth match in London.
Usyk, 22-0 with 14 stoppages, will face Fury, 34-1-1 with 24 stoppages, again on December 21 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
Although boxing fans would love to see a Beterbiev and Bivol rematch, Beterbiev could be forced to fight the No. 1 contender for his IBF title. At 39, how many fights does he have left in him? Usyk, at 37, is right behind him.
Usyk last fought at cruiserweight, defeating Tony Bellew, 30-2-1, in November 2018 at the Manchester Arena. Entering the heavyweight ranks, he would defeat WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO champion Anthony ‘AJ’ Joshua twice. Then, in his last fight before defeating Fury, he defeated Daniel Dubois, 19-1, by knockout in August 2023.
The fans want a Bivol and Beterbiev rematch, with many, including this writer, feeling that Bivol deserved the decision. That might happen in 2025, with Beterbiev first defending against someone else. Where does that leave Bivol, you might ask?
For Usyk to defeat Fury and return to cruiserweight, he would be a favorite to regain those titles. Beterbiev could have several fights at light heavyweight before moving up to cruiserweight if he wins those fights, which would set up a possible rematch with Usyk.
