Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight debut nearly came against battle-hardened fighter who ruined an Olympian’s career

Oleksandr Usyk's dominance in the heavyweight division could make him a favorite in his upcoming rematch with Daniel Dubois, impacting betting lines significantly as punters gauge his past victories and overall performance against camouflaged contenders.

Oleksandr Usyk has near enough cleaned out the heavyweight division as he prepares to lock in for his rematch with Daniel Dubois on July 19th.

With wins over Derek Chisora, Daniel Dubois, and Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury twice, Oleksandr Usyk is a clear force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division.

In just three fights in the division, he became a unified world champion, and in just six, he became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.

Usyk fought Chazz Witherspoon for his pro debut, who stepped in for Tyrone Spong, who was knocked out in Karate Combat recently.

Before the Spong fight was cancelled, though, Usyk was set to face one battle-hardened heavyweight.

Oleksandr Usyk vs Carlos Takam was set for May 2019.

After his win over Tony Bellew, Usyk decided his time at cruiserweight was done, having achieved all there was to achieve as the first-ever four-belt undisputed cruiserweight champion.

It was announced that on the 25th of May, 2019, Usyk would face Carlos Takam.

Just weeks before, though, Usyk suffered a bicep injury and the fight was rescheduled for September.

Eddie Hearn revealed in August that Takam would no longer be taking the fight, though did not reveal why.

Takam was 36-5-1 at the time, having lost to Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua, Joseph Parker, and Alexander Povetkin.

Takam knocked out Mike Tyson‘s former foe, Frans Botha, and years after withdrawing from the Usyk fight, would dash the hopes of Olympic gold medallist Tony Yoka.

The Frenchman had been rising the professional ranks up until 2022, when Yoka suffered a majority decision loss to Martin Bakole.

In a bid to get his career back on track, Yoka faced Takam next, but suffered another decision loss.

He then faced Ryad Merhy and got his third loss in a row, tainting his pro career.

He has since won three fights.

Usyk’s heavyweight debut could’ve come against Russian powerhouse after Takam pull-out.

After Takam’s withdrawal, Eddie Hearn spoke to FightHype on who Usyk could face, suggesting one option was Andrey Fedosov.

Fedosov was 31-3 at the time and had been stopped just once, by Bryant Jennings who went the distance with Wladimir Klitschko.

This article first appeared on Bloody Knockout and was syndicated with permission.

Oleksandr Usyk has near enough cleaned out the heavyweight division as he prepares to lock in for his rematch with Daniel Dubois on July 19th. With wins over Derek Chisora, Daniel Dubois, and Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury twice, Oleksandr Usyk is a clear force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division.

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