What’s Next For The Heavyweight Divison?
The heavyweight division could open up once Oleksandr Usyk retires from the sport, so what could happen?
Usyk is the current Unified Heavyweight Champion after beating Tyson Fury for the second time to retain his titles. Fury announced his retirement in the aftermath of the loss, leaving Usyk as the best heavyweight of this generation. The other title, which is the IBF belt, is currently held by Daniel DuBois.
Dubois will box Joseph Parker on February 22 in the second defense of his belt. There is an expectation that Usyk will fight the winner of Dubois vs. Parker. However, there is also a scenario where the Ukrainian retires, which could open up the heavyweight division. This naturally raises the question of who is the next best thing.
Dubois will be considered the leading heavyweight, given the emphatic manner in which he knocked out Anthony Joshua. Dubois dropped Joshua several times on his way to a fifth-round stoppage win. He showed remarkable courage in bouncing back from his setback when he was stopped by Usyk. He followed that up with victories against Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic before he produced against Joshua. Parker also has the opportunity to do the same.
Parker enters the Dubois fight in the best form of his career. He has victories against Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang in his last two fights. He is the former WBO Heavyweight Champion, showing he has what it takes to make it at the elite level. Outside of that, the domestic heavyweight scene is also big. Moses Itauma is being tipped as the future of the heavyweight division. He could become the youngest heavyweight world champion, beating the record held by Mike Tyson when he achieved the feat at 21.
Warren’s View
Itauma is 20 years old, meaning that there is not a lot of time left for him to get that title. But if Usyk vacates the belts, then that would create a pathway for him to explore. There are also opportunities for Fabio Wardley. Wardley knocked out Frazer Clarke in emphatic fashion in the first round in his last fight.
He is now considered one of the leading domestic heavyweights coming out of Britain. Fighters such as Joe Joyce, Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora are on the decline. Meanwhile, Lawrence Okolie is still unproven as a heavyweight, having only had one fight. That leaves the heavyweight landscape wide open, as Frank Warren had plenty to say.
“Take out Usyk, and we’re the center of world heavyweight boxing. All our guys come through. When I started out in the sport when I look back then, some really good fighters. You go back to Henry Cooper, Joe Bugners, all those big, big names. The legendary names at the time, but none of them won a world title. It was all Americans. Look at it now. It’s all Brits, and whoever Usyk fights, it’s invariably going to be a Brit. 95% of them are Brits, all the top heavyweights of the world. and we’re blessed with them. We’ve got a great card here, which is going to deliver some spectacular fights,” Warren said
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