Undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is gearing up to defend his WBC title next weekend, but the unbeaten Ukrainian has already set his sights on a third showdown with a familiar rival.
Since moving up to heavyweight, Usyk has twice defeated each of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Daniel Dubois. However, this Saturday, he will face a first non-British opponent since his 2019 heavyweight debut—Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian star is also assisting Anthony Joshua in his preparations for a planned clash with Fury later this year, which did not stop him from telling Saudi power broker Turki Al-Alshikh about his intentions to fight “The Gypsy King” for a third time.
In a video shared by Al-Alshikh, Usyk declared his willingness to take on “Greedy Belly” (a nickname for Fury) again, notably leaving the United Kingdom off his list of preferred locations.
“Hi brother, I am ready, every time. I am ready. Las Vegas, New York, Saudi Arabia—anything. Come on! Greedy Belly [Fury] is my friend,” Usyk said.
Fury responded, confirming his own interest in a trilogy bout and branding himself the “cash cow” of the heavyweight division.
“Greedy Belly is coming for a feast of rabbit pie, get up! First, I will start with the chinless, bum, dosser, Anthony Joshua, and I will knock him out. Then, I am coming back for a rabbit pie. Greedy Belly is ready for some more rabbit pie. There is only me, there is nobody else, I am the cash cow. Come on! You want big paydays? It ain’t against an Agit Kabayel, it ain’t an Anthony Joshua, it ain’t a [Daniel] Dubois, it’s in ‘The Gypsy King’. London, New York, Las Vegas, let’s rock and roll, baby,” Fury said.
Notably, Agit Kabayel remains Usyk’s mandatory challenger, and the WBC has promised Kabayel a title shot in September. Usyk must face the German or risk being stripped of his belt.
