Wilder's Camp Confirms Interest In Usyk Fight

Oleksandr Usyk named Deontay Wilder as his preferred final opponent. Wilder's camp did not take long to respond.

"If the terms were right, Deontay would welcome the opportunity to fight Usyk. Usyk is a great champion, and it would be an honour to fight him,” Shelly Finkel (Wilder’s manager)

It is the first public statement from Wilder's side since Usyk's team outlined its plans, and it confirms what most assumed — that Wilder would have no interest in turning this one down. The matchup has been discussed for years. That it is now being discussed with genuine intent from both sides is a meaningful development.

Usyk framing this as a potential final fight adds weight to the conversation. The Ukrainian is undisputed heavyweight champion and widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion who has spent his heavyweight career dismantling the division's biggest names.

For Wilder, the stakes are different. He is 39 years old and operating in the later stages of a career that peaked with a long WBC heavyweight title reign but has been defined, in the public memory, as much by his losses as his wins. The two defeats to Fury — particularly the third fight — marked a turning point. He has not fought since October 2022, a near three-year absence that has raised questions about whether the best version of him is still accessible.

What has never been in question is his knockout power. Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) owns one of the most devastating right hands the heavyweight division has ever seen. The threat he poses is real regardless of age or ring rust, and Usyk's team knows it. This is not a soft landing for either fighter.

Whether the terms come together is the remaining question. Finkel's caveat — "if the terms were right" — is standard negotiating language, but it leaves room for the deal to fall apart. These conversations have collapsed before. For now, both camps have signalled they want the fight.