Oleksandr Usyk makes retirement admission before Daniel Dubois fight
The Ukrainian has not fought since beating Tyson Fury for a second time last September and is set to return to the ring next month against Dubois
Oleksandr Usyk has admitted he thinks about retirement but is targeting a stadium fight in his beloved Ukraine before hanging up the gloves for good.
It is fair to say that the heavyweight star is is edging closer to the end of his career as he prepares to take on Daniel Dubois on July 19 at Wembley Stadium. Usyk - who holds the WBA, WBO and WBC belts - will put them on the line against 'Triple D' - the IBF champion - in the first ever four-belt heavyweight unification on British soil.
The pair have already met before when Usyk went on to stop Dubois in the ninth round back in 2023. However, the fight was not without drama. Just before the midway point, the Ukrainian was sent crashing to the canvas due to a shot to the body. That said, it was later deemed a low blow - much to the frustration of Dubois.
With just over a month to go until the contest, Usyk is currently preparing over in Spain. While he is giving it his all in training, the 38-year-old is thinking about life after boxing. He told The Ring: 'I don't think about retirement much but I do think about it sometimes. I cannot say now how many fights I've got left.
'Right now, my dream continues but I'm very grateful for my family and my team who are with me… But I still want to fight at the Olympic stadium in Kyiv. Now I have no idea who that would be against.' Next month's fight will be his first fight at Wembley Stadium. The 38-year-old admits it was always a dream of his to fight in a big stadium like Wembley. 'When I was young or at the start of my career I used to dream about boxing in a big stadium like Wembley or Tottenham,' he added.
'Now it's real. I boxed in a big stadium against Anthony Joshua and it was great, a big fight. But I don't visualise the fight now. My focus is just training, my rest. I'm not visualising the fight because when I go to London, when I step in the ring, OK I'll start. Now there's no need for it.'
On the topic of the low blow incident two years ago, the Ukrainian is adamant that it was a 'dirty punch,' but is now solely focused on the task at hand on July 19. 'It doesn't frustrate me because I think it's rubbish,' he said. 'It's trash talk, it's rubbish. For me it doesn't matter because I know it was a dirty punch - now for me it's in the past. I live today in the present.'
Ahead of the rematch, the two teams have already come to blows after Dubois' trainer Don Charles sensationally questioned Usyk's faith in God after accusing him of 'conning the boxing world' during the pair's 2023 bout in Poland. 'The actions you did that night, you've heard of the Oscars? You should've won an Oscar,' Charles told a press conference in April. 'You conned the referee, you conned us and you conned the boxing world. You pride yourself as a God-fearing man – 'Thou shalt not lie' – so I question what kind of God do you worship? The God has summoned you for our son Daniel Dubois to get revenge on you.'
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