{"id":427610,"date":"2026-01-21T11:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T11:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/427610\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T11:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T11:26:09","slug":"oleksandr-usyk-in-talks-with-zuffa-boxing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/427610\/","title":{"rendered":"Oleksandr Usyk In Talks With Zuffa Boxing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t \"Oleksandr<\/a>Oleksandr Usyk versus Daniel Dubois press conference, PK, Pressekonferenz at Wembley Wembley Stadium Wembley England Uk 17th July 2025 Undisputed Oleksandr Usyk versus Daniel Dubois final press conference at Wembley Stadium, Credit:Dean Fardell \/ Avalon PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUKxFRAxUSA Copyright: xDeanxFardellx\/xAvalonx 1022835626\t\t\t \t\t\t <\/p>\n

Zuffa Boxing<\/a> haven\u2019t even had its first official show, but it\u2019s already making huge waves in the world of professional boxing. Reports have circulated that the promotion may be in talks with boxing royalty, Oleksandr Usyk.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Oleksandr Usyk versus Daniel Dubois press conference, PK, Pressekonferenz at Wembley Wembley Stadium Wembley England Uk 17th July 2025 Undisputed Oleksandr Usyk versus Daniel Dubois final press conference at Wembley Stadium, Credit:Dean Fardell \/ Avalon PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUKxFRAxUSA Copyright: xDeanxFardellx\/xAvalonx 1022835626<\/p>\n

Speaking to TalkSport<\/a>, Usyk\u2019s team director, Segey Lapin stated that Dana White and Zuffa Boxing are in talks with the IBF, WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is contact, there is dialogue, and interest exists\u201d, Lapin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDetails aren\u2019t for the public right now. Let\u2019s say a few doors are open, and if format, numbers, and timing align, the market could see a move nobody expects. Everyone has seen what he [Dana White] did. He turned \u2018old MMA\u2019 into the global\u00a0UFC\u00a0machine. His real power is packaging not just a fight, but an event. If he gets involved, the scale and attention immediately become different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oleksandr Usyk to Zuffa Boxing?<\/p>\n

We were led to believe that Zuffa Boxing would focus on signing young, up-and-coming talent rather than trying to poach the established, well-known fighters. With that being said, last week the promotion announced the signing of cruiserweight king, Jai Opetaia.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>BOXING OPETAIA CINKARA, Australian Jai Opetaia walks out prior to the IBF and The Ring cruiserweight world titles at Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on the Gold Coast, Saturday, December 6, 2025. NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY GOLD COAST QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxAUSxNZLxPNGxFIJxVANxSOLxTGA Copyright: xZAINxMOHAMMEDx 20251207170185137651<\/p>\n

The acquisition of Oleksandr Usyk could coincide with the Ukrainian\u2019s next fight. After defeating Daniel Dubois via brutal knockout in July 2025, his next fight appears to be one out of left field. Talks are ongoing to face fearful puncher and former WBC champion, Deontay Wilder.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n

The two were rumoured to be meeting on July 11th in San Francisco, however, that one seems to have been put to bed by Shelly Finkel, Wilder\u2019s manager.<\/p>\n

Lapin commented on the potential match-up by saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are conversations and negotiations happening, but there are no final decisions and nothing signed at this moment. We\u2019re moving calmly and professionally. When everything is agreed, it will be announced officially. We are only considering the biggest and most logical options, fights that truly create an event, not just another name. There are several top heavyweights in the conversation, but the shortlist changes depending on belts, timing, dates, and broadcast structures. Our position is simple: if it\u2019s a fight, it has to be a big one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you think that Oleksandr Usyk would be a good signing for Zuffa Boxing? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oleksandr Usyk versus Daniel Dubois press conference, PK, Pressekonferenz at Wembley Wembley Stadium Wembley England Uk 17th July…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-427610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}