A legend of British boxing has warned Oleksandr Usyk not to let time catch up with him before he retires.
Usyk is a generational great who will go down in history as the first man to ever become a two-time undisputed champion in the four-belt era of the heavyweight division.
He also cleared out the cruiserweight division after picking up a gold medal back in the London Olympics Games of 2012, so he has nothing left to prove in the sport.
He has never been knocked down and never lost a fight, with standout wins over big names including Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
Much of his career in the banner division has come while his homeland has been at war, which has proven he has a mental as well as physical toughness that has continued to stand him apart.
Usyk was in action on Saturday when he faced boxing novice Rico Verhoeven, but the Ukrainian put in a surprisingly below-par performance, struggling for large portions of the contest before claiming a controversial 11th round stoppage win over the kickboxer.
With questions over what Usyk should do next, former champion Duke McKenzie admitted to Seconds Out that he thinks there should be just one more fight left for the Ukrainian great.
“If he is going to have one more fight then I hope it is against Kabayal and then please, please, Oleksandr Usyk, walk away from the sport, call it off, call it a day.
“Father Time catches up with everybody, sooner, or later, and it would be catastrophic to see the great Oleksandr Usyk get beat by one of these young, up-and-coming, young hungry lions out there, he’s like a piece of meat and everybody wants that meat right now, they want that bite.”
WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel was ringside on Saturday to try and force a fight with Usyk, who said he was ready, though Usyk’s former promoter Alex Krassyuk has seen enough and thinks that he should be hanging up his gloves immediately.
