Oleksandr Usyk’s decision to vacate every major heavyweight title has raised fresh speculation that his final fight could come against Deontay Wilder under the Zuffa Boxing banner.
Usyk recently gave up the WBC, WBA and IBF belts, having already vacated the WBO title last year. The move came instead of defending against mandatory challengers or trying to become undisputed heavyweight champion again.
Eddie Hearn believes Usyk’s final opponent will be Wilder and suggested the Ukrainian may simply want one last major payday without being tied to sanctioning body orders, purse bids or mandatory timelines.
“He’ll just go to all bidders, and he’ll say, ‘Where’s the most amount of money I can get for that fight?’” Hearn said. “And that’ll be him done.”
That has brought Zuffa Boxing into the conversation. Dana White was asked after Zuffa 08 whether Usyk’s farewell fight could happen under the Zuffa banner, and whether Wilder could be the opponent. He gave the same answer both times.
“Anything is possible,” White said.
There is no confirmation that Usyk vs. Wilder will happen, or that it would be for a Zuffa heavyweight title. But the pieces are starting to fit: Usyk is free of sanctioning body obligations, Wilder has been linked to him before, and Zuffa has made clear it plans to build its own heavyweight championship.
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