Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, reacted to promoter Oscar De La Hoya’s statement this week that the unified heavyweight champion Usyk will return to cruiserweight to face the winner of Saturday night’s unification fight between champions Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Chris Billiam-Smith. Usyk still must slay the ogre again before he can make a decision about whether to return to the dead, lifeless cruiserweight division to become undisputed again. I wouldn’t do it if I were Usyk.
Krassyuk said Usyk focuses only on his December 21st rematch against Tyson Fury. No decision will be made by Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) until after that fight. Alex notes that De La Hoya is doing his job promoting ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez’s career. In other words, De La Hoya will do whatever he can to create fake hype for Ramirez’s fight against Billiam-Smith.
Goodness knows, there’s almost no buzz for the Ramirez-Billiam-Smith fight from U.S. fans. They view that as a lackluster fight, mostly because Zurdo Ramirez has a boring style, and Billiam-Smith is an obscure champion who clinches incessantly.
It’s the type of fight where the average fan turns the channel and watches something else. The real interest on Saturday’s card is the William Zepeda vs. Tevin Farmer fight at lightweight.
If Usyk does return to cruiserweight, he would be better off choosing IBF champion Jai Opetaia for his first fight because he’s considered the division’s number one fighter. That would be the best option for Usyk to fight and then take the easier fight against the winner of the Ramirez vs. Billiam-Smith fight, as they’re both extremely limited fighters talent-wise.
Usyk Focused on Rematch With Fury
“Our immediate horizon is Tyson Fury. Then we decide. Oscar [De La Hoya] does his best to promote Zurdo. That’s his job as a promoter,” said manager Alex Krassyuk to Sky Sports Boxing on X when asked about his fighter Oleksandr Usyk returning to cruiserweight to fight the winner of Saturday’s unification match between champions Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Chris Billiam-Smith.
Those would be easy fights for Usyk. The tough one would be Opetaia, but only because of his power. Opetaia isn’t much of a boxer, and as we saw in his rematch with Mairis Briedis, he doesn’t react well to pressure.
Usyk turns 38 on January 17th, and it would be important for him to take on the toughest challenge immediately if he chooses to drop back down to cruiserweight to try and become undisputed champion a second time.
On another note: Usyk would be taking a massive pay cut to return to cruiserweight rather than staying at heavyweight for lucrative fights against Anthony Joshua and perhaps a trilogy against Fury.
There’s no real upside for Usyk to return to cruiserweight to try and become undisputed champion a second time. Gilberto Ramirez isn’t popular in the U.S. or worldwide. The same goes for Billiam-Smith and Opetaia. The money Usyk would get and the praise for becoming undisputed again would be minimal. Fans wouldn’t be excited about that accomplishment.
WBA cruiserweight champion ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) faces WBO champ Billiam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) in the 12-round main event this Saturday, November 16th at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
