Who could be Oleksandr Usyk's next opponent in 2025

On the same day as the legendary American boxer, only 47 years apart. January 17 gave the world of sports two champions. In 1942, Cassius Clay, better known later as Muhammad Ali, was born, and in 1987, Oleksandr Usyk was born on the same day. He is now 38 years old.

Since childhood, our champion has known that he was connected to the legendary Clay. That's why the number 17 became Usyk's favorite and even magical number. It was one of the reasons why Oleksandr took up boxing. And it is the number depicted on his boxing gear. That's why Usyk always believed that he could repeat the path of his idol. And he did repeat it.

Usyk became an Olympic champion, a two-time absolute champion in the heavyweight and super heavyweight categories. He is the fighter of the year 2024 and the best boxer regardless of weight. Given his birthday, the editorial board of UNN decided to figure out who Usyk will fight at such a respectable age for a boxer and what are his chances of keeping zero in the defeat column.

Deontay Walder

Record: (43-4-1,42 KOs)

Age: 39

Height: 201 cm

Chances of a fight with Usyk: 2 out of 5

Deontay Walder was once a formidable knockout artist. In his first 43 fights, the American did not lose in the ring. In every fight, his opponent was not worthy of him until the end. Luis Ortiz, Arthur Spilka, Robert Helenius, Bermane Stiverne, Dominic Breazeale - all of them were brutally knocked out by Walder. However, the trilogy with the well-known Tyson Fury broke the American. First, in December 2018, the fighters boxed to a draw. In the next two fights, Tyson ran over Deontay, ending the fights early in the seventh and eleventh rounds.

After that, Walder was never the same. He was defeated by New Zealander Joseph Parker (he won on points) and a tough loss to Chinese Zhang Zhilei in the 5th round by knockout.

Despite four losses, Walder is still a serious contender. He can still knock him out with a single punch, because a punch is the last thing that can go from an aging boxer. Moreover, Deontay remains commercially viable for promoters and organizations. Fights with his participation raise tens of millions of dollars. Therefore, the meeting with Oleksandr Usyk is important primarily from a business perspective. No one is going to give up the opportunity to earn "greenbacks".

If there are no other contenders for Oleksandr, he will be pitted against the American veteran. However, Deontay will have little chance. Usyk is likely to win early before the tenth round.

Forecast: Usyk TKO 9

Martin Bakole

Record: (21-1, 16 KOs)

Age: 31 years old

Height: 198 cm

Chances of a fight with Usyk: 3 out of 5

Martin Bakole is a dark horse in the super-heavyweight division. Three years ago, few people had heard of him. However, he was already known in boxing circles as a strong sparring partner. It was rumored that he knocked out Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk during training. The Congo native dreams of meeting the latter. And Bakole has a chance.

In August last year, Martin made a sensation by knocking out the star prospect Jared Anderson. Since then, for some reason, he hasn't been in the ring and there are no fights scheduled for Bakole. According to the promoters, Bakole is eager to fight Anthony Joshua. If the Briton refuses, there is a possibility of a fight with Usyk.

This fight will be difficult for Oleksandr, to be honest. Bakole has a granite chin. He always comes at his opponent like a tank. It is difficult to move him, make him retreat and get confused.

But the African also has disadvantages: he is slow for our champion, and his boxing skills are several orders of magnitude lower than the Ukrainian's. Therefore, in a potential fight, Usyk is likely to win on points.

Forecast: Usyk W (UD)12

Joseph Parker

Record: (35-3, 23 KOs)

Age: 33 years old

Height: 193 cm

Chances of a fight with Usyk: 4 out of 5

The following two boxers are the most likely rivals for Oleksandr Usyk: Joseph Parker and Daniel DuBois. They will meet in a fight for the IBF championship on February 22. Dubois is the favorite of the fight. However, for now, let's support Parker.

The New Zealander first became famous 10 years ago. At the age of 23, he defeated the then elite boxer Carlos Takam. After that, in December 2016, he won his first and so far only WBO championship belt, outboxing American Andy Ruiz in 12 rounds.

He went on to defend his title twice, beating Razvan Leatherhead and Tyson Fury's cousin Huey Fury on points. On the wave of success, Parker tried to unify the belts and lost to Anthony Joshua. After that, he lost twice more, again to the British: Dillian Whyte and Joe Joyce.

Parker was already written off by everyone, but the unexpected happened to him: he seemed to "rise from the dead." As we have already mentioned, he defeated Deontay Walder and in his final performance again made a sensation by defeating the star Chinese player Zhang Zhilei.

Parker can defeat Dubois in his next match. He just needs to be focused and show his diverse arsenal, and then he will be guaranteed a victory, rather than a points victory.

After becoming champion, Parker is 100% likely to want a fight with Usyk and may get it, and the winner will take the absolute title again. In a fight against the New Zealander, it will be even more difficult for Usyk than it was potentially against Bakole. Parker's Ake is no worse, but Joseph is inferior to the Ukrainian in reaction and speed. Given the same styles, the performance is unlikely to be spectacular. Usyk can competitively defeat Pacquiao by split decision.

Prediction: Usyk W (SD) 12

Daniel Dubois

Record: (22-2, 21 KOs)

Age: 27 years old

Height: 196 cm

Chances of a fight with Usyk: 5 out of 5

The favorite of this list is Daniel Dubois. He shocked everyone. This is probably the main metamorphosis in the boxing world over the past 10 years.

Unsure of himself, the sluggish Dubois was knocked out by the famous Briton Joe Joyce back in 2020. At the time, analysts crossed Daniel out of all the ratings and didn't expect anything from him. For three years, Du Bois fought against a mediocre list of boxers until he took on Oleksandr Usyk in August 2023. That fight was not popular even among Ukrainians. No one knew who Dubois was. He was not given a single chance. In the fight itself, Dubois looked frankly "no good". But there was one thing that happened: in the middle of the fight, the Briton hit either the Ukrainian's belt or below it (analysts are still arguing) and sent the champion to the floor. The referee counted the punch as illegal, so he did not record the knockdown. Usyk took several minutes to recover. If the punch had been counted, it would have been a knockout loss for the Ukrainian. However, Usyk recovered and ended the fight early, while Dubois was unable to recover psychologically from the shock that the fight was not completed in his favor.

After that, Duva changed dramatically. Against his next opponent, Jarrell Miller, the Briton came out as a different boxer: fast, tough, brave and uncompromising. He knocked Miller out in a spectacular fight. Then, in the summer of 2024, he moved to another avenue, Phillip Hrgovic, and at the end of the year, he defeated the well-known Anthony Joshua, becoming the IBF champion.

If Du Bois knocks out Parker, he'll take on Usyk again. And there are two ways the situation can go: either Daniel will get confused again and knock the Ukrainian out, or he'll be able to knock Usyk out with maximum focus.

Weasel: Usyk TKO 10

Oleksandr Usyk has every chance of not losing this year. However, he is 38. This is almost retirement age for a boxer at the world level. However, Oleksandr has repeatedly proved that he can destroy all stereotypes.