Why Ukraine's Usyk stepping away, who will take his titles, and his last fight: Expert take

Why Usyk delayed his decision to end his career

According to the expert, Oleksandr’s team considered all possible options for his future, both in terms of potential opponents and the possibility of retirement.

"It is important to understand that when an athlete of this level has gone through a long journey to win titles, giving them up is extremely difficult," said the founder of LuckyPunch.

"After such a decision, you are no longer a world champion; the belts are no longer yours. That is psychologically very difficult. Therefore, I am convinced they considered all options and ultimately chose the path of having one final fight (or a few) with the biggest possible payday, and allowing contenders to fight for the titles," Chepilko added.

Main contenders for Usyk’s belts

According to the WBC, German fighter Agit Kabayel, who was previously the interim champion, has already been elevated to full champion status. Usyk was obliged to defend his title against him.

In this organization, Tyson Fury is ranked number one, so it is quite possible we will soon see the "Gypsy King" back in a fight for a championship belt.

Under the IBF version, the mandatory challenger for the title is Cuban Frank Sanchez, who knocked out Olympic medalist Richard Torrez on the undercard of the Usyk–Verhoeven event in Egypt.

Who could become his opponent in a title fight remains unclear, as the second spot in the rankings is vacant. Third and fourth are held by British fighter Moses Itauma and Croatian Filip Hrgović, who will fight on August 29 for the right to challenge the WBO world champion.

Further down the rankings is Anthony Joshua, so it is quite possible that AJ could unexpectedly jump into the title picture.

For the WBA "super champion" title, there is also a mandatory challenger — American Jarrell Miller. However, the organization also has a "regular" belt holder, Russian Murat Gassiev. The question is whether the WBA will sanction a fight between them or elevate Gassiev to super champion status (a more prestigious belt considered the main one in the WBA hierarchy).

Best opponent for Usyk’s final fight

"Personally, I would like to see a rematch with Rico Verhoeven. This is the kind of fight where the fighters had no real connection before, but it left such an aftertaste that you want to see a second bout. Verhoeven gave Usyk his toughest fight since the rematch with Anthony Joshua, and he definitely deserves another chance to step into the ring with the Ukrainian champion," Chepilko noted.

According to him, interest in such a matchup would be significantly higher than in a hypothetical fight against Deontay Wilder.

"Wilder, as recent fights have shown, has already lost all the skills he could lose. So I am definitely in favor of a rematch with Rico," added the founder of LuckyPunch.

Will Usyk’s final fight be commercially successful in the US?

At the same time, Oleksandr expressed doubts about the commercial success of Usyk’s final bout in the United States.

The expert believes there is no point in organizing the event in America, as it would not generate significant interest there.

Instead, he suggests building on Usyk’s strong popularity in Europe, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom.

"Given Usyk’s huge popularity in England, his Olympic gold also being won there, Verhoeven’s notoriety in England, where he is regularly featured in media events, and the British public’s exceptional love for boxing, I see London as the ideal location for the final fight (a rematch with Rico). I am convinced the stadium could sell out for this," the expert concluded.

Previously, further details about Usyk’s decision to make the title vacant were revealed by his team director, Serhii Lapin.