Oleksandr Usyk said he is at peace with his decision to retire and confirmed he will stick to a previously reported three-fight retirement plan, telling Daily Mail Boxing that, "How I say… and what I say? Listen, it’s close."
The 39-year-old, the current IBF, WBA and WBC heavyweight world champion, is scheduled to fight Rico Verhoeven on May 23 at the Pyramids of Giza and said he wants to follow that bout by facing the winner of Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois, who are set to contest the WBO belt on May 9. Usyk’s pro record stands at 24-0 with 15 KOs; his career includes a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games, becoming undisputed cruiserweight champion in 15 professional bouts and twice becoming undisputed at heavyweight.
Usyk framed his announcement with a string of short, deliberate observations in the interview: "Three days ago, I thought about this date," he said. He added, "Now, I’m enjoying what I do" and struck the tone that has followed him through title fights and a fast-moving career: "No, no. I’m just hot in my heart and cold in my mind." He also said plainly that retirement is close.
The immediate weight to that claim is concrete: a May 23 event at one of the sport’s most dramatic venues and a direct line to the May 9 WBO title fight. If Usyk follows the three-fight script he confirmed, the Verhoeven meeting will be fight one; meeting the Wardley–Dubois winner would be fight two; and the plan he outlined aims to finish with a trilogy against Tyson Fury slated for 2027.
That ending would cap a unique résumé. Usyk’s rise — Olympic gold in London 2012, an undisputed cruiserweight title in just 15 pro fights, then two runs as an undisputed heavyweight champion — has been both swift and historically rare. He has also branched out from pure fighting: he is promoting shows at home under the Usyk 17 banner and has publicly raised ambitions beyond the ring, including an expressed interest in becoming President of Ukraine.
But the announcement also lays bare real tension. Usyk holds three major heavyweight belts while interim champions under the WBA and WBC — Murat Gassiev and Agit Kabayel — press him to fight or vacate. He says he will keep fighting long enough to complete his plan, yet he is 39 and has mapped a finish that requires opponents, timing and cooperation from other champions and rivals. That mismatch — titles held but challengers queued, and a promised exit that still needs several marquee matchups — is the friction under this moment.
Usyk has set his course; he says he is calm about it and enjoying the work. The immediate next steps are clear on paper: May 9 for Wardley vs Dubois, then May 23 at the Pyramids of Giza when Usyk faces Verhoeven. The sharper question that follows is whether the fight business and rival schedules will align around a final trilogy in 2027.
The most consequential unanswered item is whether Tyson Fury will agree to return for the trilogy Usyk wants and whether the politics of belts and interim claimants will let Usyk leave the sport on his terms. For now, oleksandr usyk is publicly saying goodbye in measured sentences, insisting he is "at peace" and determined to finish the job he laid out.
