With Oleksandr Usyk continuing to showcase why he is the pound-for-pound number one, there aren’t many options left for the dominant heavyweight.
Following Oleksandr Usyk‘s recent second win over Tyson Fury, there are talks that the current pound-for-pound number one may not hang around for too much longer.
Despite that, following his win over ‘The Gypsy King’, Usyk faced off with former foe, Daniel Dubois who is set to take on Joseph Parker on February 22.
The winner of that heavyweight clash is currently front in line to take on the Ukrainian, however, Eddie Hearn believes there is someone else more likely to beat the 38-year-old.
Oleksandr Usyk responds to Jai Opetaia’s callout
Earlier this January, Cruiserweight champion, Jai Opetaia defended his title against David Nyika with a hellacious fourth round KO.
Following the fight, promoter Hearn claimed that the 29-year-old could be the only fighter left that could stand a chance to beat former Cruiserweight king, Usyk.
“The medium focus right now is every belt in the division and the long term focus is to fight Usyk for the unified heavyweight world championship. I believe he’s the only fighter who can give Usyk a real fight over the next 12-18 months,” Hearn told ESNEWS.
Opetaia has fought at heavyweight before, however, all of his recent success has come at Cruiserweight The Ring and IBF titles.
With a lot of Usyk’s career having come at Cruiserweight, Hearn believes that Opetaia could replicate that success and dethrone him on the way to becoming heavyweight champ.
And with that, Uysk has finally responded to the calls for him to fight the Australian.
“I don’t know, maybe. He’s (Opetaia) a great fighter. Now, just rest. No think about boxing,” Usyk told IFTV.
Simulator predicts Oleksandr Usyk vs Jai Opetaia
Although Usyk is currently the heavyweight king, there isn’t a big size disparency between the two and there is only a one inch height advantage for Usyk.
Popular YouTube channel, ‘Boxing Fight Simulations’ simulated the potential fight between the two on the new Undisputed Boxing game.
Despite the simulation having Opetaia starting off the fight quick off the blocks and causing the Ukraininan problems early on, Usyk’s gritty determination shines through in round four when he scores a finish over the Australian.
However, if the fans do eventually get the potentially captivating matchup, it is expected to be much closer than the simulation has it.