Eddie Hearn insists ‘only one man can beat’ Oleksandr Usyk after laying waste to Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois
Oleksandr Usyk has barely put a foot wrong during his unblemished 23-0 professional career. The Ukrainian slickster is the current pound-for-pound king of boxing and is one of only three male fighters in the four-belt era to achieve undisputed supremacy in two separate weight classes (alongside Naoya Inoue and Terence Crawford). Usyk and HearnGETTY After unifying all the belts at cruiserweight with a stunning victory over Murat Gassiev in July 2018, and then defending them by flattening Tony Bellew four months later, Usyk moved up to boxing’s glamour division. There, he recorded a couple of routine victories over Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora before landing a blockbuster showdown with WBA, WBO and IBF title holder Anthony Joshua. Several members of the boxing fraternity insisted that Usyk was ‘too small’ to beat AJ. But the masterful technician proved his doubters wrong by outclassing the Watford powerhouse in back-to-back bouts. Usyk then laid waste to the fast-rising Daniel Dubois before taking on WBC champion Tyson Fury in May 2024 for the undisputed crown. ‘The Cat’ edged their epic inaugural encounter via split decision and subsequently widened the margin in their rematch seven months later. In between the two fights, Usyk was forced to relinquish the IBF title to Dubois in order to pursue his rematch with Fury. He is now expected to run it back with ‘Triple D’ next as he aims to become a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion, although that pivots on whether Dubois can beat Joseph Parker on February 22. Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas insists a rematch with Dubois is the only fight left for his client. However, Hearn believes a dust-up with lineal cruiserweight king Jai Opetaia would be a battle for the ages. Opetaia maintained his belts with the impressive displayGetty “I’m looking down the road, Jai is humble,” Hearn told ESNEWS after Opetaia’s recent blowout of David Nyika. “He’s committed to the cruiserweight division but for me one of the best of all time was Usyk, he became undisputed, moved up and became undisputed at heavyweight. “The medium focus right now is every belt in the division and the long-term focus is to fight Usyk for the unified heavyweight world championship. “I believe he is the only fighter who can give Usyk a real fight over the next 12-18 months.” Opetaia is the consensus best fighter at 200lbs and is currently in possession of the IBF and Ring Magazine titles. He won the belts by dethroning former cruiserweight leader Mairis Briedis in 2022 and has been chasing unification fights to no avail ever since. Usyk is expected to rematch Dubois next if he can beat ParkerGetty The expectation is that he will eventually move up to heavyweight once he has conquered his weight class. But Usyk, now 38, will likely be retired by the time he steps up. Follow talkBOXING on social media talkBOXING is now on Twitter and Facebook. Follow us on social media for big breaking boxing news, exclusive interviews and the best bits from our talkBOXING YouTube show. Like our Facebook page HERE Follow us on Twitter HERE Sign up for our WhatsApp channel HERE
Oleksandr Usyk has barely put a foot wrong during his unblemished 23-0 professional career.
The Ukrainian slickster is the current pound-for-pound king of boxing and is one of only three male fighters in the four-belt era to achieve undisputed supremacy in two separate weight classes (alongside Naoya Inoue and Terence Crawford).
After unifying all the belts at cruiserweight with a stunning victory over Murat Gassiev in July 2018, and then defending them by flattening Tony Bellew four months later, Usyk moved up to boxing’s glamour division.
There, he recorded a couple of routine victories over Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora before landing a blockbuster showdown with WBA, WBO and IBF title holder Anthony Joshua.
Several members of the boxing fraternity insisted that Usyk was ‘too small’ to beat AJ.
But the masterful technician proved his doubters wrong by outclassing the Watford powerhouse in back-to-back bouts.
Usyk then laid waste to the fast-rising Daniel Dubois before taking on WBC champion Tyson Fury in May 2024 for the undisputed crown.
‘The Cat’ edged their epic inaugural encounter via split decision and subsequently widened the margin in their rematch seven months later.
In between the two fights, Usyk was forced to relinquish the IBF title to Dubois in order to pursue his rematch with Fury.
He is now expected to run it back with ‘Triple D’ next as he aims to become a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion, although that pivots on whether Dubois can beat Joseph Parker on February 22.
Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas insists a rematch with Dubois is the only fight left for his client.
However, Hearn believes a dust-up with lineal cruiserweight king Jai Opetaia would be a battle for the ages.
“I’m looking down the road, Jai is humble,” Hearn told ESNEWS after Opetaia’s recent blowout of David Nyika.
“He’s committed to the cruiserweight division but for me one of the best of all time was Usyk, he became undisputed, moved up and became undisputed at heavyweight.
“The medium focus right now is every belt in the division and the long-term focus is to fight Usyk for the unified heavyweight world championship.
“I believe he is the only fighter who can give Usyk a real fight over the next 12-18 months.”
Opetaia is the consensus best fighter at 200lbs and is currently in possession of the IBF and Ring Magazine titles.
He won the belts by dethroning former cruiserweight leader Mairis Briedis in 2022 and has been chasing unification fights to no avail ever since.
The expectation is that he will eventually move up to heavyweight once he has conquered his weight class.
But Usyk, now 38, will likely be retired by the time he steps up.
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