Oleksandr Usyk states that he’s thinking of returning to the cruiserweight division after his rematch with Tyson Fury in December because he doesn’t like having to power feed to bulk up during his training camps for heavyweight.
Usyk vacating his four titles would be a disaster for Fury and Anthony Joshua because time is not on their side. Neither of them are spring chickens at 35-ish, and they ain’t going to be able to stick around long enough to capture the belts.
Usyk is a natural cruiserweight but has been campaigning at heavyweight since 2019, toppling the two giants in the division, Joshua and Fury, to become the undisputed four-belt champion.
“It’s my plan because when I start my [heavyweight] training camps, I’m eating all the time. For me, it’s hard, I don’t like it. Three times [daily]. Water, protein, bananas, it’s a lot of food,” said Oleksandr Usyk to the 3KRPodcast on his rationale for why he’s considering returning to the cruiserweight division after his rematch with Fury in December.
A Minor Victory for Fury’s Fans
Tyson Fury’s fans on social media view Usyk’s talk of returning to the cruiserweight division as a signal that he doesn’t believe he’ll win the December 21st rematch and that he’s already planning on fleeing the heavyweight division after he loses to the Gyspy King.
They feel that Usyk would have lost to Fury in their fight on May 18th if he hadn’t hurt Tyson in the ninth round. If not for that, Fury would have won.
This is a minor victory in the eyes of Fury’s fans, viewing it as an indication of defeat for Usyk by letting them know he got lucky and took too much punishment in that fight against Tyson.
It sounds pretty hopeless for Fury fans, but they think he’s going to beat Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) to become undisputed heavyweight champion or three-belt champion if Oleksandr’s IBF title is stripped before the December 21st rematch.
A Bleak Outlook
Usyk vacating his four belts would be the worst thing that could happen to Fury and Joshua. It would take years for them to accumulate the titles and become undisputed, and they’re not young enough to do that.
With Fury nearing 36 and Joshua 35, they may be too old to stay around for another three to four years, one of them to become undisputed champion. Joshua might not even win his next fight if he faces Daniel Dubois on September 21st.
Fury’s situation is equally bleak, with him heading into a rematch with Usyk in December. If Fury gets in trouble in that fight, there may not be a referee to save him like there was last time when Usyk was beating the royal stuffing out of him in the ninth round.
A knockout loss for Fury in the rematch with Usyk will end his hopes of capturing the undisputed heavyweight championship.
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