Oleksandr Usyk has given Eddie Hearn some hints about why he wants to face Deontay Wilder.
Usyk has won everything there is to win in boxing, from Olympic gold medals to undisputed cruiserweight championships as well as becoming the first man in the history of the four-belt era to be undisputed twice in the heavyweight division.
He has earned plenty of money in that time and now has just one or two fights left before retirement, and surprised everyone when he revealed he would like to face ‘The Bronze Bomber,’ the notoriously big-punching, though long past his peak, American.
Speaking to Sky Sports Boxing, Matchroom CEO Hearn explained why he thinks Usyk wants to fight Wilder.
“I was with Usyk in Saudi and I said Deontay Wilder and he said yes. He made a point and said I want to fight all the people from my generation and the three people who were the key fighters of my era is AJ, Fury and Wilder.
“These are the biggest names, and you have to give an honourable mention to Daniel Dubois, but he’s beaten them all twice. I think he’s thinking Wilder on my resume would be nice.”
He then gave his view on the fight itself.
“Wilder is a big draw, but for me he’s well past his best. I don’t see it as an overly competitive fight.”
Wilder’s recent form means this is not the fight it once might have been, given he has lost to Tyson Fury, Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker in the last couple of years and only beaten the unheralded Tyrell Herndon.
