Former undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has achieved everything he can in boxing. Olympic gold medal, Undisputed in two weight classes, undefeated against some of the biggest names out there—what else does it take to become a legend? If ‘The Cat’ retires tomorrow, nobody will bat an eye. However, before he does that, the Ukrainian has insisted on a surprising career switch after he takes care of unfinished business with IBF heavyweight champion, Daniel Dubois.

If you have a strong memory, you must remember what happened last year after Usyk defeated Tyson Fury for the second time. Yep, ‘Triple D’ invaded the ring and stole the spotlight for himself by demanding a rematch against the now 38-year-old. Since then, the former two-weight undisputed champion has been explicit about giving Dubois exactly what he wants—a fight. The pair previously locked horns in August 2023, where Dubois lost the fight via 9th-round knockout. 

Since the fight, Dubois has rebounded with a string of wins against notable names. However, he was geared to face ‘Interim’ WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker earlier this year, and he pulled out at the last minute because of a mystery illness. Parker went on to fight last-minute replacement Martin Bakole and expectedly won the fight. Despite Dubois’ withdrawal, talks of a fight against Usyk haven’t died down one bit.

While appearing in an interview with Al Arabiya recently, Usyk said, “’We want to fight Dubois. My team is ready. A lot depends on how God will give us a way to do it and the second person who can do it is His Excellency, Turki Alalshikh, because he is the person who can organize this fight. I think there would be obstacles otherwise.” As for his career change, that will have to wait until the Dubois fight is done and dusted. But the question is, what does Usyk want to do besides boxing?

You see, back in February, the undefeated heavyweight champion claimed he would fight twice before hanging up the gloves and named former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira as one of his desired opponents. When Usyk was pressed about whether his move to the octagon was genuine, he said, “Yes, I would be interested, but only after the fight with Daniel to merge our belts.”

“I even considered the option of fighting in a cage. It is a joke, but every joke contains an element of truth,” he said during the interview. However, there is a hurdle in making the fights against Dubois and Pereira—the WBO.

WBO will let Oleksandr Usyk fight Daniel Dubois before Joseph Parker

A few days ago, the WBO ordered Oleksandr Usyk to defend his title against their mandatory challenger, Joseph Parker—a fight Parker appears eager for. However, if Usyk chooses not to face the New Zealander, he risks being stripped of his WBO belt, which would leave the planned bout against Daniel Dubois short of undisputed status.

However, the latest report from Sky Sports has revealed that the WBO has resolved that issue for Usyk. WBO president Gustavo Olivieri has claimed that even though they have executed the mandatory order upon Usyk, “if a petition is lodged…requesting that the mandatory be ‘stayed’ until the unification takes place…such request may be granted.”

It appears everything is falling into place for Oleksandr Usyk. He would get the opportunity to become a two-time heavyweight champion, and then, as he is claiming, can go fight in the cage as well. What are your thoughts on Usyk fighting in the cage?