Just when will heavyweight king and future Hall of Famer Oleksandr Usyk call it a great career and retire? How much longer have we got to enjoy and appreciate the southpaw from Ukraine? At age 38, Usyk might not have too long to go before he realises himself that it’s time to walk away. Heck, after all he has done Usyk could be retired right now and nobody would be able to criticise him for it. Usyk could indeed have waved goodbye after that repeat win over Tyson Fury.
But Usyk still wants to fight, and he will as we know face Daniel Dubois in a rematch in July. After that fight – another win in the opinion of most experts, but not all – Usyk may or may not carry on boxing. We of course hope he does, but it could be that, like his countryman Vasiliy Lomachenko, Usyk will do the smart thing and go out on top, on his own terms.
“I can’t say now”—Usyk teases ten more fights and a Kyiv finale
But as of right now, Usyk, as he said when speaking with The Ring, “cannot say” when he will retire from the sport. Usyk jokingly said he will have “ten more fights” before retiring, before he got serious and named the venue he very much wants to fight at before he’s done.
“I think about it [retiring] sometimes,” Usyk said. “I not say now, I can’t say now because……..Because. Yeah, [I want to fight in] Ukraine, The Olympic Stadium, Kiev. My people are what motivate me. Every day they protect me and my family. The Ukrainian people, they are my motivation.”
Dirty punch debate and body work ahead of rematch
As far as the Dubois rematch goes, Usyk has heard all Dubois’s claims of ‘that punch’ in the first fight being a legit body shot. Usyk of course disagrees, saying the punch was low. The rematch will hopefully end any and all debate about who the better man is between these two heavyweights.
“It was dirty punch,” Usyk said of Dubois’s debated shot from the first fight in August of 2023. “For me, it’s in the past. I have to live today, in the present. Enough.”
Usyk, however, revealed how he has been working on his body strength in training ahead of the July 19 fight. Again, we might not get to see Usyk go to work many more times and it’s a case of enjoying him while we can.
Look for another Usyk masterclass at Wembley when he defeats Dubois a second time.
