Oleksandr Usyk's final fight plans revealed

The undefeated heavyweight legend is targeting one last blockbuster before retirement, with Deontay Wilder emerging as his preferred opponent and Jon Jones also under consideration.

Oleksandr Usyk, arguably the best heavyweight boxer of his generation, has as is now well known, relinquished all his world championship titles and now wants to have one last fight before ending his career. Important details about this final fight are slowly coming to light. The fight is scheduled for late 2026 or early 2027 in the U.S., and Oleksandr Usyk has already expressed his preferred opponent.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has already revealed Oleksandr Usyk’s plans, and apparently he wants to face Deontay Wilder.

But it doesn't seem to end there.

If the fight against Deontay Wilder doesn’t materialize, Oleksandr Usyk is hoping for another very crazy crossover fight. He’s reportedly now also interested in a boxing match against UFC legend Jon Jones.

With his focus on these fights, however, Oleksandr Usyk apparently wants to avoid fighting up-and-coming talents like Moses Itauma.

As Eddie Hearn said on Saturday:

“Usyk has earned the right to do whatever he wants”

Oleksandr Usyk has built a reputation that few boxers have ever achieved. That’s why he can basically do whatever he wants, and also keep an eye on the money.

However, a fight against Deontay Wilder also makes sense. He’s one of the top heavyweight fighters and has never faced Oleksandr Usyk in the ring, so it would certainly make sense to close that gap.

A fight against Jon Jones would be far less realistic. Although he has officially retired, he remains under contract with the UFC. UFC President Dana White and the entire organization have, almost without exception, banned all fights against boxers to date. The only exception was the bout between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather in 2027.

On top of that, boxing isn’t necessarily one of Jon Jones’s strengths, quite the opposite, in fact. So it would be pretty unrealistic for Jon Jones to voluntarily enter a fight in which he would most likely be soundly defeated.

It remains to be seen which opponent Oleksandr Usyk will ultimately choose. What’s more exciting, though, is who will accept the challenge.

The idea of Oleksandr Usyk fighting Deontay Wilder sounds very plausible to me. That would be another top-notch fight to cap things off and would really ramp up the excitement. The fight against Jon Jones might not be as exciting from a sporting perspective, but it would obviously still be well worth it for Oleksandr Usyk. I'm really curious to see which fight we'll end up getting.