Alexander Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krasyuk, says he would like to see him fit for the undisputed championship the following day following his 12-round unanimous decision victory over Tyson Fury in their rematch last Saturday night.
They will have to wait for the winner of the Feb. 22 bout between IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker before negotiations begin for an undisputed championship contest with Usyk (23-0, 12 KOs).
Usyk says he is open to any fight, and it will be up to Turki Alalshih if he wants to fight the Dubois-Parker winner. Oleksandar has no one to fight, and that would be huge for him at heavyweight. He’s talked about wanting to move up to the cruiserweight division, but he won’t do it if he can get a bigger fight against Dubois or Parker.
Usik’s dominance
“It was a beautiful performance. I am actually speechless for this reason. I don’t have much to say. He was an encyclopedia of boxing,” said promoter Alex Krasjuk iFL TVtalking about his fighter Oleksandr Usyk after his victory over Tyson Fury last Saturday night in Riyadh.
“In 12 rounds, he showed how boxing is done.” So he made it out of the basement. He was laying bricks. By putting windows and a roof, he will make a building,” said Krasjuk about Usik’s performance.
“We have been fighting in our opponents’ backyards since 2016. This is nothing new for us. It’s a pleasant atmosphere. We are used to it.
“Probably relax, get his mind right and get back to training,” Krasjuk said when asked what Fury should do next. “He is a great champion. It’s not about what I’d like to see. It’s about what the boxing world would like to see. If they’re happy to see this fight, that’s perfect.”
Fury will NOT back down because he wants to fight Anthony Joshua, and you can understand that. He has a lot of money to face AJ, and it would help him redeem himself after losing back-to-back fights against Usyk.
“For me, I’d like to see Usyk as the undisputed No. 3,” Krasyuk said, making it clear that he wants Usyk to face the winner of the Feb. 22 contest between IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker.
Turki Alalashikh also wants an undisputed fight between Usyk and the winner of Dubois vs. Parker, so he has no problem making that fight happen as long as something unforeseen happens. Anthony Joshua will not be a problem as he has shown no desire to fight Dubois in a rematch and knows better than to face Usyk a third time.
Fury’s beard controversy
“It’s not an issue that affects the outcome of the fight,” Krasjuk said when asked if Fury’s chin was an issue for them in this fight. “It’s just a formal matter whether we follow the rules or not.” The rules say that the beard must be trimmed so that its volume does not affect the shot.
“Every organization has it, but it doesn’t clarify the specific length of the beard, and for that reason you can’t know the line where it comes from legal to illegal,” Krasjuk said.
Whether or not Fury’s chin cushioned the impact of Usyk’s punches enough to avoid injury is impossible to know. On several occasions, Fury’s head rocked back and his eyes rolled white as Usyk hit him hard. It is not known if those shots would have done more damage if Fury had been clean-shaven. You’d still like to see Fury shave.
What will be interesting to see is if Fury chooses to shave rather than not fight. If so, you have to believe he grew his beard to use it as a fortification to protect him from blows.
