Heavyweight champion will be ordered to fight unbeaten contender after voluntary defence.
Oleksandr Usyk is running out of options to choose from.
For a while, we were told he’d be fighting Deontay Wilder. But with Wilder’s fight against Derek Chisora now official, that is clearly off the table.
We then heard brief mention that he could be facing Andy Ruiz Jr., yet those talks quickly dissipated. Ever since, a wildcard was thrown in in the form of kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven, but we have no idea how serious that suggestion was.
The point is that we are entirely in the dark as to who Usyk will next be facing. A glance at the top 15 of the division with some weighing up of what is most lucrative and realistic could give us an idea, but would tell us nothing for certain.
And while that is very much the case, we do know who the WBC wants Usyk to face at some point.
Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC, has said that Usyk has been granted a voluntary defence of his titles, stating, “So, [Usyk] requested a voluntary title defence, which is very customary. He was given that opportunity, and he must fight the interim champion next. That’s the ruling.”
The interim champion in this instance is Agit Kabayel, the undefeated German who many regard as Usyk’s toughest stylistic test at the weight and one of his most deserving challengers.
Kabayel was last in action in January, chopping down undefeated Pole Damien Knyba in a German homecoming. Kabayel’s promoter, Frank Warren, claims to want another German show for Kabayel in May, with Lawrence Okolie considered to be a possible option.
Whether Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) faces Kabayel (27-0, 19 KOs) is not certain, as Usyk has turned down mandatory defences before. He first relinquished the IBF title instead of rematching Daniel Dubois, then vacated his WBO title instead of facing Fabio Wardley.
However, Usyk-Kabayel is just what the heavyweight division needs, and German fans will be hoping for their first heavyweight champion since Max Schmeling.
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