Oleksandr Usyk, the 38-year-old Ukrainian southpaw, is currently the undisputed heavyweight champion (excluding the WBO belt, which he vacated in late 2025 to focus on key defenses).
He’s on an impressive 23-0 record (14 KOs), having dominated the division since moving up from cruiserweight. Usyk’s technical mastery—footwork, angles, and stamina—shone brightest in his 2024 trilogy with Tyson Fury, where he won the undisputed crown in their first bout, defended it in a rematch, and most recently stopped Daniel Dubois in the fifth round at Wembley Stadium in July 2025.
Usyk has also twice dismantled Anthony Joshua, cementing his status as one of the greatest heavyweights of the modern era. However, at his age, he’s hinted at retiring within two years, prioritizing legacy fights over mandatory defenses.
Deontay Wilder, the 39-year-old American knockout artist known as “The Bronze Bomber,” brings a contrasting style: raw power in his right hand, with a 44-4-1 record (43 KOs).
Wilder ruled as WBC champion from 2015 to 2020, racking up 10 defenses before his epic trilogy with Fury— a controversial draw in 2018, a seventh-round KO loss in 2020, and a brutal 11th-round stoppage in 2021.
His decline accelerated with a points loss to Joseph Parker in 2024 and a fifth-round KO defeat to Zhilei Zhang later that year, exposing defensive frailties and stamina issues. Wilder returned in June 2025 with a seventh-round stoppage of little-known Tyrrell Anthony Herndon but has been inactive since, fueling speculation about his twilight years.
This comes after Usyk vacated his WBO belt in November 2025, promoting interim champ Fabio Wardley to full status to sidestep immediate obligations.
Mandatory challengers loom—WBC interim champ Agit Kabayel faces Damian Knyba on January 10, 2026; the IBF eyes a Torrez-Sanchez eliminator; and WBA regular Kubrat Pulev fights Murat Gassiev on December 12, 2025—but Usyk’s camp aims to fast-track a Wilder bout, possibly in Las Vegas or Wembley, to maximize spectacle before any Fury trilogy.
If it happens, Usyk-Wilder completes Usyk’s heavyweight resume—he’d have faced Fury (twice), Joshua (twice), Dubois, and now the Fury-slayer.