{"id":421437,"date":"2026-01-20T12:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T12:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/421437\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T12:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T12:59:09","slug":"oleksandr-usyk-holds-talks-with-dana-white-ahead-of-zuffa-boxing-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/421437\/","title":{"rendered":"Oleksandr Usyk holds talks with Dana White ahead of Zuffa Boxing launch"},"content":{"rendered":"

11:07, 20 Jan 2026Updated 11:08, 20 Jan 2026<\/p>\n

\"Oleksandr<\/p>\n

Oleksandr Usyk wants to fight Deontay Wilder(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

Oleksandr Usyk could become Dana White’s marquee signing after holding talks with the UFC<\/a> supremo.<\/p>\n

Usyk holds three of the heavyweight world<\/a> titles after giving up his WBO strap rather than take on Fabio Wardley. The Ukrainian has expressed his desire to fight Deontay Wilder<\/a> this year, despite the American’s form being a far cry from his heyday. Usyk and Wilder have been linked with a fight on July 11 as part of iV Boxing’s venture into the sport which could see a world-record crowd gather in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

But Usyk’s camp manager Sergey Lapin has revealed his fighter is in talks with White. “There is contact, there is dialogue, and interest exists [from Dana White and Zuffa Boxing<\/a>],” Lapin told talkSPORT Bet Slot Site<\/a>. Details 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.<\/p>\n

“Everyone has seen what he [Dana White] did. He turned \u201cold MMA\u201d into the global UFC machine. His real power is packaging not just a fight, but an event. If he gets involved, the scale and attention immediately become different.<\/p>\n

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“There are conversations and negotiations happening [with Deontay Wilder], 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.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

Zuffa Boxing hosts it’s first show on Friday with Callum Walsh headlining in Las Vegas against Carlos Ocampo. The promotion’s biggest signing to date is cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia but Usayk would trump the Australian should he put pen to paper with White.<\/p>\n

Lapin also confirmed Agit Kabayel as a possible future opponent, adding: ‘In today\u2019s heavyweight top division there are no \u201csafe\u201d opponents, every top level guy is a threat. Kabayel is definitely a possible option. We see how Germany reacts to these fights, the stadiums they can fill, and how strong that market is. Stylistically he can be tricky too. Pressure, pace, physicality. It would be a big European fight with strong business potential.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"11:07, 20 Jan 2026Updated 11:08, 20 Jan 2026 Oleksandr Usyk wants to fight Deontay Wilder(Image: PA) Oleksandr Usyk…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":421438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,10359,48853,5384,82,640],"class_list":{"0":"post-421437","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-dana-white","12":"tag-deontay-wilder","13":"tag-oleksandr-usyk","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-ufc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=421437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/421438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=421437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=421437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=421437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}