Usyk eyes 'final chapter' at cruiserweight against Benavidez
Former undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is eyeing a return to cruiserweight to fight David Benavidez before retiring from boxing, says his adviser.
Ukrainian heavyweight star Oleksandr Usyk is planning to make a final return to cruiserweight to fight David Benavidez, according to his adviser Sergey Lapin. The 39-year-old, who last fought in May, vacated his heavyweight titles after a hard-fought win over Rico Verhoeven. Initially, Usyk had intended to end his career at heavyweight, but now has his sights set on the cruiserweight division.
Lapin revealed that Usyk aims to claim a vacant cruiserweight world title before pursuing a unification bout with undefeated American Benavidez. The Ukrainian boxer hopes to return to cruiserweight in 2027 and once again become undisputed champion in the division where he began his career by winning all the major belts. During his time at cruiserweight, Usyk dominated the division, winning 16 fights and securing the undisputed title.
Before transitioning to heavyweight in 2019, he became a two-time undisputed champion, with an impressive 25-fight unbeaten record. Benavidez, at 29, boasts a perfect 32-fight record and currently holds the WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles. The IBF belt remains vacant following the March stripping of the title from Jai Opetaia.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Sport's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
