Oleksandr Usyk has locked horns with the best fighters of his generation – but one stands out above the rest.

The Ukrainian technician is one of only three male two-weight undisputed champions in the four-belt era alongside Naoya Inoue and Terence Crawford.

He first unified all the titles at cruiserweight by defeating hard-hitting Russian Murat Gassiev in the final of the 2018 World Boxing Super Series tournament.

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And then did the same at heavyweight just under six years later when he beat Tyson Fury in their all-action inaugural encounter.

En route to his epic two-fight series with Fury, which concluded in December when Usyk got his hand raised once again, the 38-year-old fought rugged veteran Derek Chisora in his second outing in the glamour division.

Usyk won the bout on points but was pushed all the way by Chisora, who never took a backward step for the full 12 rounds.

It is for this very reason that Usyk reserves the distinction of his toughest-ever opponent for ‘Del Boy’.

“I think it is Derek,” he told talkSPORT.com. “My friend Derek. Hey, Derek I am coming for you!

“Derek is a terrible guy, really tough. It’s just hard [fighting] Derek. He was just very difficult.”

Chisora defeated Otto Wallin earlier this month in his penultimate professional fight.

He is set to have his final bow in London later this year and the British boxing icon wants it to be a rematch with Usyk.

Chisora previously told talkSPORT in November that he was pushing for a crossover clash with Francis Ngannou in Africa.

However, his sights have now shifted to his former foe.

“I think that the Choo Choo train has passed now,” Chisora told talkSPORT.com of a potential showdown with Ngannou.

“The hype for me fighting him has died down. Put it this way, AJ [Anthony Joshua] fighting Francis Ngannou is the same as Canelo [Alvarez] fighting Jake Paul.

“Do you understand? So I think that the gravy train for Francis Ngannou in boxing and trying it doesn’t work…

“My last fight will be in Tottenham [Hotspur Stadium]…I’m pushing for Tottenham.

“I’m not going to say [Usyk]. I’m manifesting it. I’m asking God for the opportunity.

“I’ve said to Frank [Warren], you know, now Oleksandr Usyk has to phone his boss and ask his boss if he can fight me.

“But that’s the fight I want.”

After defeating Chisora, Usyk went on to beat Anthony Joshua in back-to-back bouts before laying waste to Daniel Dubois.

He is now two fights away from retirement and is waiting patiently for the winner of Dubois and Joseph Parker’s IBF title clash on February 22.

“We wait for a fight on February 22 between Daniel and Joseph,” he added.

“Whoever wins this fight between Daniel and Joseph, I have already made the fight.”

Oleksandr Usyk has confirmed he will fight on despite, in the eyes of many, ‘completing boxing.’

The Ukrainian southpaw has been undisputed at both cruiser and heavyweight, beating such names as Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury along the way.

Still undefeated in 23 fights, many felt that Usyk’s second victory over Fury in December 2024 was the perfect time to walk away from the sport, with a place in the history books and International Boxing Hall of Fame all but confirmed.

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However, the 38-year-old plans on returning at least once more, with a key goal of becoming two-time undisputed in the heavyweight ranks. He holds three of the four major belts after vacating the IBF last year, which was picked up by Daniel Dubois and is defended against Joseph Parker later this month.

The winner will most likely look for the clash with Usyk, however continuing reports of a return for former long-reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko could throw a spanner in the works. The 48-year-old, also from Ukraine, has made it clear that he is interested in breaking George Foreman’s record as the oldest heavyweight titlist in history and was even in early discussions with Dubois before the Parker fight was announced.

TalkSPORT recently reported that Usyk was ‘planning’ a fight with his countryman, stemming from an interview conducted with promoter Alex Krassyuk. However, Krassyuk was instead suggesting Klitschko could face the winner of Dubois vs Parker, and cleared up the situation when speaking to IFL TV.

“No. This is what I can say for sure, Usyk and Klitschko will never step into the same ring. Never, ever. No chance whatsoever. Not even a single thought about it.”

Klitschko of course feels the same way, recently telling the Ring Magazine:

“Look, I’ve been always ready, I’ve been always training, I’ve been always ready and still [am]. And you just said this word rumours, those rumours being for a long time since my retirement and I mentioned that as well to break George Foreman’s record, that would be something that is really exciting.

With Oleksandr Usyk, could you imagine two Ukrainians gonna fight each other, he’s not my brother you know we don’t have the same blood and same parents, but he’s my countryman and our country is at war and it would definitely send the wrong message.”

Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh has expressed a keen interest in both Wladimir’s return as well as Usyk’s second tilt at heavyweight undisputed. What fight takes precedence will become clear after Dubois and Parker face off on February 22.

Oleksandr Usyk is running out of opponents having cleaned out the heavyweight division.

The Ukrainian cemented himself as the greatest heavyweight of his generation in December, defeating Tyson Fury for the second time to successfully defend his unified WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles.

After writing himself into the boxing history books with two victories over ‘The Gypsy King’, Usyk is now faced with making a decision on what route to take next in what has been an incredible career.

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Having already won the undisputed championship at cruiserweight and heavyweight, there surely can’t be much left to achieve for the Ukrainian superstar.

Step forward reigning IBF world cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, who has said he would ‘hands down’ take a fight against Usyk and offered him a chance to return to the division he dominated for five years or face him at heavyweight down the line. The 29-year-old from Australia is unbeaten in 27 contests, with two solid victories over Mairis Briedis in 2022 and 2024 respectively.

Opetaia’s promoter Eddie Hearn has made it clear the ‘long term focus’ is a clash against Usyk and believes his man is the only fighter who has a chance of ending the 38-year-old’s undefeated record.

“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 is the only fighter who can give Usyk a real fight over the next 12-18 moths.”

Speaking to iFL TV, Usyk was asked if he would be interested in facing the Australian star.

“I don’t know, maybe. He’s [Opetaia] a great fighter.”

The Ukrainian was then asked what else he wanted to achieve in the sport, with the prospect of a rematch against Daniel Dubois also an option.

“Now, just rest. No think about boxing.”

Usyk defeated Dubois in August 2023, getting up from the canvas after a controversial body shot landed on the Ukrainian’s belt line.

‘Dynamite’ went on to capture the IBF heavyweight title last year, making his first defence in a shock victory over Anthony Joshua last September.

Dubois stormed the ring just minutes after Usyk’s win in December, as he targets a rematch against the Ukrainian which would give him an opportunity to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.