Oleksandr Usyk isn't ruling out a possible showdown with Canelo Alvarez.
'The Cat' is set to face Anthony Joshua later this month in Saudi Arabia. It will be a rematch of their September 2021 thriller, where Usyk marched into 'AJ's' home turf and walked away with the WBA (Super), WBA, IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles.
Ahead of the rematch, there's been a lot of discussion on who the winner could face next. Tyson Fury has led those discussions as 'The Gypsy King' retired earlier this year, but has since teased a comeback to the ring.
However, another name in that discussion is Canelo Alvarez. The Mexican superstar is coming off a loss to Dmitry Bivol in May and is set to face Gennadiy Golovkin next month. Alvarez has previously stated that he would enjoy a matchup with Usyk.
The super-middleweight champion has even stated that he'd be willing to go to heavyweight to face the Ukrainian, but would prefer to fight Usyk at cruiserweight. Now, in an interview with Parimatch, the heavyweight champion addressed the possibility of fighting Alvarez.
The 35-year-old was quick to note that a matchup isn't likely, but it's not impossible. He stated:
"To fight Canelo Alvarez, I would have to lose 12kg. It will be a freak fight. I think firstly I need to do what I have in mind in the heavyweight division, and then maybe arrange such a fight. But the fight with Canelo Alvarez potentially involves big money, so I’m not ruling out the possibility that it will happen."
See Usyk's interview below:
Could Oleksandr Usyk and Canelo Alvarez ever fight?
Oleksandr Usyk and Canelo Alvarez could fight in the future, but not anytime soon.
'The Cat' is set to face Anthony Joshua later this month in Saudi Arabia. While he's favored to win the rematch, there's still no guarantee when facing a heavy-hitter such as 'AJ'.
However, beyond the rematch, Usyk doesn't have any plans set in stone. On the other end, though, Alvarez does. He's currently set to face Gennadiy Golovkin in September in their long-awaited trilogy matchup.
Beyond the trilogy, the Mexican superstar is also looking to face Dmitry Bivol later this year, or early 2023. If Alvarez wins his next two fights, we could possibly see him fight Usyk. At that point, would the Ukrainian even be the heavyweight champion?
For this possible matchup, it doesn't look good.