Oleksandr Usyk has had an unusual callout for a potential final fight to end his magnificent career.
Usyk is one of the greatest boxers to ever do it and certainly the best of his generation. His amateur career ended with an Olympic gold medal, and six years later, he had cleaned out the cruiserweight division to become undisputed in 2018.
A further six years on, he matched that feat up at heavyweight when he defeated Tyson Fury in May 2024, having already beaten Anthony Joshua to become unified champion.
In July, he rematches Daniel Dubois in a second undisputed title fight to try and win back the IBF belt he had to vacate ahead of his rematch with Fury in December last year. He won the first fight with ‘DDD’ via knockout, but not before being put down on the canvas with what was ruled a low blow.
One fighter who has called for a clash with Usyk is Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who has proposed taking on the Ukrainian in mixed martial arts.
Speaking on Game Time with Boomer Esiason, Usyk admitted he would have no problem answering Paul’s calls for a fight under MMA rules.
“Listen, my first sport is not boxing. It’s wrestling. My father was a military guy. He teach me street fighting, work knife, shooting. I say hey papa, what we do? He say prepare, Prepare for what? Prepare for life. I use jiu-jitsu, karate, wrestling, kickboxing, street fight. [So Jake Paul] No problem. No Problem.”
Should Usyk come through his fight with Dubois at Wembley Stadium, he will have to decide between taking on mandatories like Joseph Parker and Derek Chisora or pursuing this fight with Paul.
