A ruling world champion has eyes on moving up and challenging the generational great that is Oleksandr Usyk.
Next month, Usyk will take on Daniel Dubois, the current IBF champion, as he attempts to become an undisputed champion in the heavyweight division for the second time.
It will be the first time anyone has ever managed that in the four-belt era, and will come on top of him already being an undisputed cruiserweight champion back in 2018.
How many fights the Ukrainian has left is unsure, though he has spoken about a mixed martial arts fight before he retires, and many current stars continue to call him out.
One of them is Jai Opetaia, the Australian who has established himself as a dominant force in the cruiserweight division. He made waves winning his first world title, the IBF strap, back in 2022 by defeating Mairis Briedis.
In May 2024 the pair rematched and Opetaia won again, and he has also stopped Jack Massey, David Nyika and Claudio Squeo in his last three fights to retain the IBF and Ring Magazine titles.
Speaking to DAZN, he admitted that although he keeps notching up wins, he has bigger goals he is fighting towards, including moving up to challenge Usyk.
“I want to move up to heavyweight eventually, but I want these unification fights to become undisputed and then be able to move up there. It’s just frustrating, I’ve got this goal in my head, and I’ve had it for such a long time. I’m just trying to tick these boxes.
“I don’t want to go up and down. Once I’ve gone to heavyweight, I want to stay at heavyweight. [A fight with Usyk] is the goal. I’d love to do that. We’ve just got to get these unification fights out of the way and then I’d love to fight Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship.”
Another potential fight up in the banner division has been mooted against fellow Aussie Justis Huni, who was knocked out by Fabio Wardley last weekend but not before getting himself ahead on all of the judges cards late into the contest.
