Usyk Vs Fury Rematch takes priority, Cruiserweight on hold

Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, responded to promoter Oscar De La Hoya’s statement this week that unified heavyweight champion Usyk will return to cruiserweight to face the winner of Saturday night’s unification bout between champions Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Chris Billiam- Smith. Still sick must kill the troll again before he can make a decision on whether to return to the dead, lifeless cruiserweight division to go uncontested again. I wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t sick.

Krassyuk said Usyk is only focusing on his Dec. 21 rematch against Tyson Fury. No decision will be made on Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) until after that fight. Alex notes that De La Hoya is doing his job promoting ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez’s career. In other words, De La Hoya will do what he can to create false hype for Ramirez’s fight against Billiam-Smith.

Goodness knows, there is almost no buzz for the Ramirez-Billiam-Smith fight from American fans. They consider it a lackluster fight, mostly because Zurdo Ramirez has a dull style and Billiam-Smith is an obscure champion who strikes incessantly.

It’s the type of match where the average fan will turn the channel and watch something else. The real interest on Saturday’s card is William Zepeda vs. The Tevin Farmer lightweight fight.

If Usyk returns to cruiserweight, he would be better off picking IBF champion Jai Opetaia for his first fight because he is considered the division’s number one fighter. That would be the best option for Usyk to fight and then take the easier fight against the winner of Ramirez vs. Billiam-Smith fight as they are both extremely limited fighters talent-wise.

Usyk focused on the Rematch With Fury

“Our immediate horizon is Tyson Fury. Then we’ll decide. Oscar (De La Hoya) is doing his best to promote Zurdo. That’s his job as a promoter,” manager Alex Krassyuk told Sky Sports Boxing on X when asked if his fighter Oleksandr Usyk will return to cruiserweight to fight the winner of Saturday’s unification bout between champions Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Chris Billiam-Smith.

These would be easy matches for Usyk. The tough one would be Opetaia, but only because of his power. Opetaia isn’t much of a boxer, and as we saw in his rematch with Mairis Briedis, he doesn’t react well to pressure.

Usyk turns 38 on January 17th, and it would be important for him to take on the toughest challenge right away if he chooses to drop back down to cruiserweight to try to become undisputed champion a second time.

On another note: Sick would be takes a massive pay cut to return to cruiserweight instead of staying at heavyweight for lucrative fights against Anthony Joshua and perhaps a trilogy against Fury.

There is no real upside for Usyk to return to cruiserweight to try to become undisputed champion a second time. Gilberto Ramirez is not popular in the US or worldwide. The same applies to Billiam-Smith and Opetaia. The money Usyk would get and the praise for going unchallenged again would be minimal. Fans would not be thrilled with that performance.

WBA Cruiserweight Champion ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) meets WBO Champion Billiam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) in the 12-round main event this Saturday, November 16 at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event will be shown live on DAZN.