Oleksandr Usyk to RETIRE after next three fights with Tyson Fury one of two opponents before farewell
OLEKSANDR USYK has revealed his plans for retirement – but wants to fight Tyson Fury and Canelo Alvarez first.
Usyk declared via his Usyk-17 promotion company that he will hang up his gloves after a maximum of three more fights as he does not intend to keep fighting once he passes his peak.
Oleksandr Usyk has confirmed he will retire after three more fightsPA
Oleksandr Usyk is targeting a dream match with Tyson Fury before retirementAP
Oleksandr Usyk also wants a bout with Canelo Alvarez before hanging up his glovesGetty
And the Ukrainian superstar stated that a dream match with Fury is among his priorities.
The 35-year-old would also like to lock horns with Canelo Alvarez before a farewell bout in Ukraine.
He said: “I can have three more fights at the very most.
“It is the most realistic to be in my top form. With Fury, Canelo and a farewell fight at Olympiyskiy.
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“With Canelo he said that he wanted to fight me. It would be a freak fight just for the sake of earning money.
“I only need to beat Fury and then it is time to retire for me. The unification of all the belts is much more important than just a fight or another defence.
“I want to outbox Fury and I don’t want to work that much just for another defence. There is much more that I can achieve.”
The undefeated heavyweight extended his streak to 20 victories after overcoming Anthony Joshua for the second consecutive time in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.
Usyk has since been linked with a dream match with Fury, who seems set to come out of his own retirement.
The Gypsy King, who is also still undefeated, is expected to take on the Ukrainian at some point.
But Usyk is first eyeing a bout against Deontay Wilder, who lost two out of three fights to British superstar Fury.
Alvarez, on the other hand, emerged victorious out of last week’s trilogy bout with Gennady Golovkin.
The Mexican star boosted his record to 58 wins in 62 fights, of which he has lost two.
A fight with Alvarez would see them meet somewhere in the middle on weight, with the Mexican having gone up to light-heavyweight twice in the past and Usyk making his name at cruiserweight.
Meanwhile, Fury is closing in on a fight with Joshua on December 3, with official confirmation seemingly all that remains for the ‘Battle of Britain’ to take place.
The two heavyweights have agreed a 60-40 split purse in the Gypsy King’s favour, with AJ’s stock at an all-time low after losing twice to Usyk.
