Usyk plans cruiserweight return: vacant IBF title first, then Benavidez
Oleksandr Usyk wants to become undisputed cruiserweight champion again in 2027. Adviser Sergey Lapin outlines the route: the vacant IBF belt first, then David Benavidez.
Archive image · Photo: Andriy Makukha (Amakuha) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Former heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk apparently wants to return to the division where he once held every title. "Oleksandr aims to return to cruiserweight in 2027 and become undisputed again," adviser Sergey Lapin told Casinostugan, according to Boxing News. "First, we are looking at a fight for a vacant world title" – the IBF belt. "Then, the goal is to face David Benavidez to unify all the belts and become undisputed cruiserweight champion."
In May Usyk defended his heavyweight titles with an 11th-round stoppage of kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven and then vacated the belts. Benavidez holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles and faces WBC champion Michał Cieślak on 5 December. The IBF title has been vacant since Jai Opetaia was stripped.
Going via the IBF title could let Usyk leapfrog Australia's Opetaia, who is also chasing a fight with Benavidez.