Usyk considering move back to cruiserweight

Unified heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk, has said that he could move down to the cruiserweight division after his rematch with Tyson Fury this December. The Ukrainian defeated Fury last month to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion in a long time and now holds the four belts in the heavyweight division. 

Any other person would be satisfied and be drawing up plans for how they would defend their title in subsequent fights, but not Usyk, who has hinted that the fight with Fury could be his last in the heavyweight division. 

Before making the jump to the heavyweight division, Usyk was king of the cruiserweight with all the titles in his possession. He gave up all of that in 2019 for the heavyweight division, and five years later, he’s now the undisputed champion. And now, he’s planning to be cruiserweight champion a second time. 

Usyk made all of this known at an interview with the 3 Knockdown Rule podcast, where he also revealed the likely reason behind his decision to quit the heavyweight division. He said: “I think maybe after the rematch, I am going to go down in weight to cruiserweight. I want more [fights at] cruiserweight.

“It’s my plan because when I start my [heavyweight] training camps, I’m eating all the time. For me it’s hard, I don’t like it. Three times [per day]. Water, protein, bananas, it’s a lot of food.”

Seems like the champ is having problems with maintaining weight, which can be demanding when in the highest division. Any drop in weight could affect, not just the possibility of a fight holding, but also one’s performance. 

Also, at 37, Usyk does not have as many more years to take punches as he used to. So dropping to the cruiserweight division could be a way to ensure he keeps on boxing like he loves to without putting his body through as much stress or danger.