Ask most fans who Oleksandr Usyk should fight last, and the answers come quickly: Moses Itauma, or the winner of Fury versus Joshua. Ask Usyk, and the answer is Deontay Wilder. That gap between what supporters want and what the pound-for-pound great appears to be chasing has turned his farewell into a row \u2014 and the Usyk Wilder plan sits right at the centre of it.<\/p>\n
Usyk wants to close his career against Wilder in the United States, framing the bout as a \u201clast dance\u201d. For a fighter who has beaten everyone put in front of him, the reaction has been strikingly hostile, with many arguing the 39-year-old should sign off against a genuinely dangerous name rather than a former champion widely seen as the softer touch.<\/p>\n
The Usyk Wilder plan<\/p>\n
Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) is in talks with Zuffa Boxing for a farewell against Wilder on American soil. \u201cWhy not? If Deontay\u2019s team wants it, I do it. Money, business \u2026 now we have two options, but what for me is good, we will take,\u201d Usyk told The Athletic. He has already vacated his heavyweight titles rather than defend the WBC belt against mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel, freeing himself from championship obligations and clearing the way to pick a lucrative send-off on his own terms.<\/p>\n
Why fans wanted someone else<\/p>\n
The frustration is easy to follow. Usyk has already achieved virtually everything the sport can offer him across two divisions, so supporters hoped he would target Itauma or the winner of Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua<\/a> \u2014 a division-defining goodbye against one of the heavyweight scene\u2019s leading names. Instead they get a former WBC champion whose stock has slid a long way. Critics see Wilder as the low-risk option: a huge name, a big payday and, on recent form, a relatively safe night that carries little chance of a career-ending upset. It is a very different destination from Usyk\u2019s earlier next-fight talk<\/a>, and the sense that a great is choosing commerce over jeopardy is what has stung fans most.<\/p>\n What is left of Wilder\u2019s right hand<\/p>\n