Timothy Bradley believes one man, who defeated a “monster” in his last fight, has earned the right to challenge Oleksandr Usyk.
The Ukrainian announced last week that he has vacated his WBC, IBF and WBA titles, while maintaining his status as the lineal heavyweight champion.
Usyk earned this privilege by outpointing Tyson Fury in 2024 and, until he retires or loses a contest, no other man can truly claim to be the top dog at heavyweight.
Even Usyk himself has admitted that the end is near, though, with the 39-year-old having insisted that he will be having just one more fight.
This decision followsa subpar performance against former kickboxer Rico Verhoeven, who gave a strong effort before suffering an 11th-round stoppage defeat in May.
But while a Verhoeven rematch seems the obvious option, Usyk has instead been linked with a possible clash against former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ comes off a split-decision victory over Derek Chisora, who he floored on two occasions during their chaotic battle in April.
Based on this performance, Hall of Famer Bradley has told Ring Magazine that he feels Wilder has justified a potential showdown with Usyk.
“Anybody that can deal with Chisora – who’s a monster; who’s a freight train – he’s worthy of fighting against Usyk. He’s definitely earned it.
The Ukrainian is more likely to be considering Wilder for two other reasons – to have a big main event in the US and to cross off all the division’s dominant names in his era before hanging up the gloves.
Reports suggest that Jon Jones, former UFC heavyweight champion, is also in the running.
