Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Deontay Wilder - Who wins?
Posted: 01 Sep 2026, 06:50
USYK SEEKS WILDER FIGHT IN MARCH SOMEWHERE IN U.S.
Oleksandr Usyk still has his sights set on a bout with Deontay Wilder.
The Ring’s Mike Coppinger reported on the newest episode of “Inside The Ring,” which premiered Monday, that Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) plans to face Wilder (45-4-1, 43 KOs) sometime in March in the United States. Coppinger added that Usyk wants to face the former WBC heavyweight champion in part because he wants a big fight in the U.S. before retiring.
Usyk, who holds The Ring belt, has fought in the U.S. three times. The Ukrainian southpaw last fought in the States in October 2019, when he scored a seventh-round stoppage of Chazz Witherspoon at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Usyk, 39, narrowly avoided being on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in sports history in his last fight, which resulted in an 11th-round stoppage of Rico Verhoeven on May 23 at Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. In the waning moments of the 11th round, Usyk dropped the former Glory Kickboxing heavyweight champion with a right uppercut.
He swarmed Verhoeven (1-1, 1 KO) after he rose to his feet, and with the round about to end, referee Mark Lyson stopped the fight. Verhoeven, 37, led 96-94 on judge Pasquale Procopio’s scorecard, while judges Fabian Guggenheim and Manuel Oliver Palomo had it 95-95 at the time of the stoppage.
Usyk, ranked No. 2 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, is a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion and also achieved the feat at cruiserweight. He vacated the IBF, WBA and WBC heavyweight titles shortly after beating Verhoeven.
Wilder, 40, is coming off a split-decision victory over Derek Chisora on April 4 at O2 Arena in London.
The Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native won the WBC heavyweight title in January 2015, when he went the distance for the first time in his career in a unanimous-decision victory over Bermane Stiverne. He defended that belt 10 times before suffering his first loss, a seventh-round stoppage against Tyson Fury in their second bout in February 2020.
Wilder has gone 3-3 since losing to Fury, including a devastating 11th-round knockout defeat in their third fight in October 2021.
Oleksandr Usyk still has his sights set on a bout with Deontay Wilder.
The Ring’s Mike Coppinger reported on the newest episode of “Inside The Ring,” which premiered Monday, that Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) plans to face Wilder (45-4-1, 43 KOs) sometime in March in the United States. Coppinger added that Usyk wants to face the former WBC heavyweight champion in part because he wants a big fight in the U.S. before retiring.
Usyk, who holds The Ring belt, has fought in the U.S. three times. The Ukrainian southpaw last fought in the States in October 2019, when he scored a seventh-round stoppage of Chazz Witherspoon at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Usyk, 39, narrowly avoided being on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in sports history in his last fight, which resulted in an 11th-round stoppage of Rico Verhoeven on May 23 at Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. In the waning moments of the 11th round, Usyk dropped the former Glory Kickboxing heavyweight champion with a right uppercut.
He swarmed Verhoeven (1-1, 1 KO) after he rose to his feet, and with the round about to end, referee Mark Lyson stopped the fight. Verhoeven, 37, led 96-94 on judge Pasquale Procopio’s scorecard, while judges Fabian Guggenheim and Manuel Oliver Palomo had it 95-95 at the time of the stoppage.
Usyk, ranked No. 2 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, is a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion and also achieved the feat at cruiserweight. He vacated the IBF, WBA and WBC heavyweight titles shortly after beating Verhoeven.
Wilder, 40, is coming off a split-decision victory over Derek Chisora on April 4 at O2 Arena in London.
The Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native won the WBC heavyweight title in January 2015, when he went the distance for the first time in his career in a unanimous-decision victory over Bermane Stiverne. He defended that belt 10 times before suffering his first loss, a seventh-round stoppage against Tyson Fury in their second bout in February 2020.
Wilder has gone 3-3 since losing to Fury, including a devastating 11th-round knockout defeat in their third fight in October 2021.