Tim Bradley has named arguably the greatest challenge for Oleksandr Usyk, who some believe should hang up the gloves following his clash with Rico Verhoeven.
The Ukrainian came through a tougher-than-expected test against Verhoeven last month, resulting in a controversial stoppage after he scored an 11th-round knockdown.
Up to that point, Usyk was trailing on one of the judges’ scorecards but managed to inspire an intervention from referee Mark Lyson, who waved Verhoeven off after the bell.
This, indeed, came as a contentious piece of officiating, yet the real story here is that Verhoeven, a former kickboxer, was able to last 11 rounds with the heavyweight king.
Perhaps it was due to Usyk underestimating his opponent, or maybe his performance can be better explained by the text message he received from his daughter, who was contacting him from a bomb shelter in Ukraine prior to the fight.
Either way, the 39-year-old would need to produce a vastly improved display if he ends up facing WBC ‘interim’ champion Agit Kabayel in his next outing.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Bradley said that Kabayel, who has previously stopped the likes of Zhilei Zhang and Frank Sanchez, represents a genuine threat to Usyk’s supremacy as WBC, IBF and WBA world champion.
“You’ve got a guy like Kabayel, who has been waiting for some time. This might just be the right time for him [to defeat Usyk].
“Usyk’s old manager [Alex Krassyuk] said: ‘You need to go ahead and retire already because, if you don’t retire, you’re going to get beat’.
“[Krassyuk] didn’t like what he saw against Rico, but I hope this fight [with Kabayel] happens next. Kabayel is going to be a difficult fight for him.
“This guy can punch, he’s a great body puncher, he can move and box, he can come forward, he can counterpunch – he can do a little bit of everything.”
Having been ordered to defend his WBC title against Kabayel, Usyk must now decide whether to face the unbeaten contender or vacate his belt and pursue alternative options.