A boxing speed bag – Source: Unsplash
It’s been six long months since we last saw the unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk step into the ring. His last effort was arguably the finest performance of his career, a five-round destruction of Daniel Dubois to become undisputed champion for the second time. The Ukrainian no longer has the undisputed tag attached to his name, vacating the WBO title because injury didn’t allow him to defend against his mandatory challenger Joseph Parker, but he remains the king of the heavyweight division, of that there is no doubt.
Usyk turned 39 on January 17th, and one has to wonder how many more battles he has left in him before he calls it a day. As we head deeper into 2026, we are still no closer to the all-time great’s return to the squared circle. However, when he does return, a new betting giant will be in town, aiming to bring punters closer to the action.
New betting outlet Ozoon Sports will be launching in the near future, and its release is expected to be in time for Usyk’s return to the ring later this year. The upstart website will be providing a huge offering to punters, with access to the likes of the NFL, NBA, and the English Premier League, as well as big-time boxing. But who will be the first person standing opposite Usyk by the time the site is launched and the Ukrainian is back on center stage? Let’s take a look.
Deontay Wilder: The Surprise Frontrunner
The conversation surrounding Usyk’s next foe continues to circle back to one surprise name: Deontay Wilder. Not Agit Kabayel, the unbeaten interim titlist who’s earned his shot through the rankings. Not Fabio Wardley, the young British knockout artist elevated to WBO champion after Usyk walked away from that belt. And certainly not a third helping of Tyson Fury, the man he’s already beaten twice.
Wilder. A faded knockout artist on a three-loss skid who looked lost and confused before Zhilei Zhang knocked him senseless last June in Riyadh. It’s the kind of choice that makes hardcores wince and casuals shrug, but that’s where we are. Usyk’s looking west, toward American soil he hasn’t fought on since 2019, and he’s willing to risk his unbeaten record against a dangerous puncher who might be one clean shot away from erasing two decades of careful legacy-building.
Usyk conquered Europe through his cruiserweight run and dominated Riyadh’s Saudi-backed spectacles, but he’s never truly cracked the American market. A Las Vegas or LA showdown with Wilder—damaged goods or not—opens doors that a Kabayel defense in Hamburg never could. Usyk even applied to the WBC for permission to make a voluntary defense against the Alabama native, effectively asking the sanctioning body to let him skip their interim champion in favor of PPV dollars.
The irony isn’t lost on Wilder himself, who told talkSPORT with surprising self-awareness: “The power gets me less chances, and after the losses, people get brave and confident. It is crazy that you get more chances when you lose, when I was at the top and knocking people out, I didn’t get chances.”
Stylistically, Wilder represents exactly the kind of live underdog who could derail everything in one violent moment. Usyk’s a back-foot operator who works angles and feints, forcing heavyweights to chase him into counters they never see coming. But Wilder doesn’t need to see it coming—he needs one loaded right hand to find a home, and suddenly we’re talking about the greatest upset since Buster Douglas.
Is that likely? No. Wilder’s chin has been cracked, his legs wobble under pressure, and his one-dimensional approach plays perfectly into Usyk’s systematic breakdowns. But it’s possible, and possibility creates drama. That’s the gamble Usyk’s willing to make for American recognition and whatever massive purse the Saudis or US promoters can assemble.
Agit Kabayel: The Worthy Contender
Agit Kabayel has done everything right. The 33-year-old German climbed the WBC rankings with workmanlike victories over credible contenders—Zhilei Zhang, Frank Sanchez, Arslanbek Makhmudov—during Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season showcases. He earned interim gold the hard way, then defended it January 11th with a brutal third-round dismantling of Damian Knyba that left no doubt about his credentials. Standing 27-0 with 19 knockouts, Kabayel represents exactly the kind of mandatory challenger sanctioning bodies exist to create: unbeaten, deserving, dangerous.
And it’s those dangerous credentials that have ironically been his downfall: frozen out while Usyk hunts one last monster payday before sailing off into the sunset. British journeyman Dave Allen is someone who raves about Kabayel, publicly stating that he feels that the German is the man who could end Usyk’s dominant run. But it is that God-given talent that has the Ukrainian looking elsewhere, pretending he cannot see the giant elephant in the room. He might not be able to, but the rest of us certainly can.