{"id":607022,"date":"2026-05-27T17:53:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/607022\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T17:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:53:07","slug":"oleksandr-usyk-will-only-return-for-major-event-fight-nothing-else-left-to-prove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/607022\/","title":{"rendered":"Oleksandr Usyk will only return for ‘major event fight’: “Nothing else left to prove”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fans are wondering what the future holds for Oleksandr Usyk<\/a> after his fight with Rico Verhoeven.<\/p>\n

Usyk established himself as the best heavyweight in modern history after claiming victories over Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, all on two occasions each.<\/a><\/p>\n

It saw the Ukrainian become undisputed heavyweight champion twice, and having cleaned out the majority of the division he then took a controversial showcase fight against kickboxing legend Verhoeven.<\/p>\n

While it was expected by most boxing fans that it would be a straightforward win for Usyk, it ended up being an extremely competitive affair, with Verhoeven winning a lot of rounds and appearing to be on the brink of one of the biggest upsets in history.<\/a><\/p>\n

That changed when Usyk knocked down the Dutchman in round 11, and while Verhoeven was able to get back to his feet, a further flurry led to referee Mark Lyson jumping in and waving off the fight, with many viewers believing it was done so far too early.<\/p>\n

It has led to questions over what Usyk should do next, whether it be a rematch against Verhoeven, or the long overdue clash with WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel.<\/p>\n

Usyk\u2019s team director Sergey Lapin has now given an insight into what his man may do next, telling Betpack<\/a> that the only way the Ukrainian will return is if it\u2019s a \u2018major event.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWho will Usyk fight next? Right now, everything depends on two things: the right offer and the champion\u2019s own desire.<\/p>\n

\u201cOleksandr has nothing left to prove. He is now in a position where he chooses what interests him next. Neither outside pressure nor social media discussions will influence his decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the next fight happens, it will be because it is truly a major event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saudi chief Turki Alalshikh has teased a big show in Istanbul in 2027, so a potential fight with Kabayel could indeed tick the box of being the major event that Usyk desires.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fans are wondering what the future holds for Oleksandr Usyk after his fight with Rico Verhoeven. Usyk established…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-607022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}