Undisputed cruiserweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk is closing in on a deal for his next fight while Murat Gassiev, the man he vanquished to unify all four major titles last month, will be out of action for several months recovering from multiple surgeries following that bout.
Usyk’s team has been negotiating a fight with Tony Bellew, currently a heavyweight and a former cruiserweight world titleholder, and they are close to a deal for a cruiserweight world title fight in November, Egis Klimas, Usyk’s manager, told ESPN.
Alexander Krassyuk of K2 Promotions Ukraine, which represents Usyk, and Bellew promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, Bellew’s promoter, have been negotiating the fight for the past few weeks.
“Alexander and Eddie have been negotiating and I spoke to Alexander and they’re getting very close and most likely it’s going to be completely done (later this week or next week),” Klimas said. “They’re looking in November.”
If the fight is finalized, Klimas said it would take place in the United Kingdom, Bellew’s home country, which means Usyk will once again fight on the road.
Usyk (15-0, 11 KOs), 31, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist from Ukraine, won his world title in 2016 from Krzysztof Glowacki in Glowacki’s home country of Poland and has made all five of his defenses on the road – two in the United States against Michael Hunter and Thabiso Mchunu, in Marco Huck’s native Germany, Mairis Briedis’ home turf of Latvia to unify two belts and a one-sided decision over Russia’s Gassiev to unify all four belts on July 21 in Moscow in the final of the World Boxing Super Series.
“Usyk is a road warrior,” Klimas said. “‘Road Warrior’ Usyk.”
Should Usyk, a southpaw, and Bellew consummate their deal, Bellew would return to cruiserweight to challenge for the titles rather than Usyk move up to fight him at heavyweight, Klimas said.
“Bellew made a very good comment,” Klimas said. “He said, ‘Why do I need Usyk in the heavyweight division? He has no name in the heavyweight division. I’d rather come down to the cruiserweight division because there are four titles involved.'”
Bellew (30-2-1, 20 KOs), 35, won a cruiserweight world title by third-round knockout of Ilunga Makabu – surviving a first-round knockdown — in May 2016 and made one defense, also a third-round knockout of B.J. Flores in October 2016. But following that win, Bellew vacated the title and moved up to heavyweight for a long-simmering grudge match with David Haye, whom Bellew knocked out in the 11th round in March 2017 followed by a fifth-round knockout in May in their rematch.
The World Boxing Super Series announced recently that one of its three second-season tournaments would be another eight-man, single-elimination cruiserweight tournament. However, there apparently won’t be any world titles involved because Klimas said Usyk plans to hold on to them until at least after a fight with Bellew.
“(The tournament organizers) hope we will be releasing the titles. We’re not planning to do that,” Klimas said. “We’re going to fight Bellew.”
Klimas said that even if Usyk defeats Bellew it does not mean he would give up the titles and move up to heavyweight, which remains Usyk’s long-range goal.
“(If) Andre Ward wants to come back as a cruiserweight, Andre Ward and Usyk would be a perfect fight. A perfect fight,” Klimas said. “But right now we’re trying to make Usyk and Bellew.”
Ward (32-0, 16 KOs), 34, of Oakland, California, is a former unified super middleweight and light heavyweight world titleholder who retired last fall following his eighth-round knockout of Sergey Kovalev in their light heavyweight title rematch, but there has been constant chatter that he would entertain a return for the right fight.
While Usyk is ready to soon return to the ring Gassiev (26-1, 19 KOs), 24, will be out of action for several months following his lopsided decision loss – 120-108, 119-109 and 119-109 – to Usyk for the undisputed title.
Abel Sanchez, Gassiev’s trainer, told ESPN that Gassiev would be back but not for a while.
“He had some injuries, lingering injuries we got taken care of. We have some time to take care of them,” Sanchez said. “So he’ll be out for the next five or six months. He had some shoulder surgery and nose surgery. But, hopefully, we’ll meet with the team in about a month and discuss what the future holds.”
Whether Gassiev remains at cruiserweight or decides to move up to heavyweight has yet to be determined.
“No decision has been made,” Sanchez said. “We’re going to meet and see what happens.”