Usyk eyeing Heavyweight World title shot following impressive victory over Derek Chisora

ByIan Shutts
Usyk

The heavyweight boxing scene continues to be the leading light for the sport, which is a welcome return for what has long been the most exciting and popular weight class. Bringing back the legendary years of the likes of Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Joe Louis. Now we have both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua as the dominant champions, with the pair looking to fight for the unified title in 2021. But could we now have another name in the mix in the shape of Oleksandr Usyk, following another impressive victory over Derek Chisora?

The former unified Cruiser weight champion Usyk picked up his second professional victory at heavyweight, following moving up in weight back in 2019. He entered following a dominant period and looking for a new challenge and signed off his Cruiser weight career with a stoppage of another former champion in Tony Bellew. That was yet another example of just how impressive he has been and why he is regarded as one of the pound for pound best in the sport.

Usyk opened up his heavyweight career with a stoppage of Chazz Witherspoon, which was expected but instantly gave a glimpse of what was to be expected of the 33-year-old Ukrainian. This then set him up for a fight with Dereck Chisora, who himself has climbed back up to the top of the sport with victories over Senad Cashi, Artur Szpilka and David Price, following his knockout defeat against fellow Brit, Dillian Whyte back in 2018. This was expected to be a major test of his credentials in the division, with the different boxing sites offering odds as short as 1/12 on Usyk to maintain his unbeaten professional record. This proved to be another popular bet amongst punters, who also used the different bonuses to further enhance their selections on Usyk. That gave a further example of just how highly rated he is, as he looked to set up a World heavyweight title fight in the near future.

Chisora started the fight fast as expected and even appeared to rock Usyk in the opening exchanges but from then Usyk took control of the fight. He continued to show his incredible footwork and boxing ability to dominate the latter stages of the fight. The Ukrainian showed that speed plays a major role in boxing and it is not simply about size in the heavyweight division. The fight finished with a decision victory, with scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 117-112 over veteran Chisora. It will now be interesting to see what is next for Usyk, who now has a professional record of 18 wins without loss, following his highly successful amateur career, that saw him win Gold at the 2012 Olympic games.

Usyk is now eyeing a shot at Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury for a heavyweight world title but it appears the pair will first face off in 2021, with a deal in the process of being made. Anthony Joshua is already scheduled to take on Kubrat Pulev on the 12th of December at the 02 arena. The betting markets make him the overwhelming favourite at a general 1/9, so he will be expected to come through with the victory. Pulev will be expected to pose a problem and brings in a record of 28 wins and just one loss. A victory for Joshua is then likely to lead him to a unified title fight with Fury, which is without a doubt the biggest fight to be made in the sport at present and one of the most anticipated clashes for some time. Fury is also set to reappear in 2020 and has recently stated he will take on Agit Kabayel on the 5th of December. Fury has already been put in as the general 1/25 favourite, so will also be expected to come through the fight with ease and send a message to the world, ahead of the clash with Joshua. It will now be fascinating to see, whether this fight came be made in 2021 and give the boxing world what they want to see.

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