Why Oleksandr Usyk has nothing left to prove -- an...

playOleksandr Usyk wary of 'dangerous' Rico Verhoeven (0:51)Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven speak ahead of their WBC heavyweight title fight in front of the Pyramids of Giza. (0:51) With 1 minute, 46 seconds remaining in the fifth round, Daniel Dubois snapped Oleksandr Usyk's head back with a perfectly timed right hand set up by the jab during their rematch in July 2025 in London. For a brief moment, it looked as though Dubois had finally cracked the puzzle. But Usyk answered instantly. Just four seconds later, he fired back with a left hook followed by an overhand right that sent Dubois crashing to the canvas. Dubois beat the count, but the recovery was short-lived. Usyk swarmed him and detonated another left hook that folded Dubois to the mat for good. As Usyk stood in the center of the ring with his arms raised before collapsing to his knees in victory celebration, the conversation quickly shifted from disbelief to inevitability: What exactly was left for him to accomplish? Usyk has done just about everything that you could ask of the boxer from Ukraine. He captured gold in the 2012 Olympic Games, capping off a stellar run through the amateur ranks with a 335-15 record before turning pro, where he became undisputed in two weight classes and the first male boxer with the distinction of being a three-time undisputed world champion in the four-belt era (since 2004). With a sparkling record of 24-0 with 15 KOs and two wins apiece against the cream of the crop of the heavyweight division -- Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dubois -- in his past six fights, there's not much left for Usyk to do in the sport. So he will take his talents to Egypt on Saturday to headline against kickboxer Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza (DAZN, 1 p.m. ET). It's a unique event, ESPN's No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer facing one of the greatest kickboxers of all-time, with an Egyptian backdrop adding to the spectacle. "For the first time, I am doing what I really want to do. Not what I must do and not what people expect from me," Usyk told ESPN via e-mail. "This event will be something special. A big event in a beautiful place. It's like a Hollywood movie fighting in front of the Pyramids. It's the first time in Egypt for me. This is history. This is a sport but also a show and fun. I am happy." Very few fighters have found themselves in Usyk's position this late into their careers: undefeated, financially secure, still elite and with no clear challenger to his throne. And far too often, the cruel sport of boxing has seen fighters extend their careers well past their expiration date when Father Time steps in to intervene. We've seen legacies damaged and heroes fall. However, in the case of Usyk, he's still as good as he's ever been. And participating in a fight that will earn him what is expected to be a massive fight purse in a low-risk, high-reward event is, in his words, "interesting." "I fight because I want to fight and I will stop when I want to stop," Usyk said. "Listen, I am honest with myself. I understand the body has limits and every athlete has a limited time in their sport. But, for now, I know what I can do and I know what I want. And this is exactly what I want to do." After spending more than a decade collecting titles, defeating heavyweight giants and cementing himself as one of boxing's all-time greats, Usyk is no longer fighting out of necessity. His showdown with Verhoeven is part spectacle, part celebration and part reminder that, even at 39 years old, Usyk remains one of the few fighters capable of leaving the sport on his own terms. Oleksandr Usyk celebrates after knocking out Daniel Dubois to regain the undisputed heavyweight championship in July 2025. Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty ImagesWHAT USYK IS doing by facing a non-boxer is not unusual. Floyd Mayweather did it in his final professional fight to date when he fought MMA superstar Conor McGregor in 2017, and both Fury and Joshua did the same when they fought former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in 2023 and 2024, respectively. But unlike those who preceded him, Usyk is doing it while he is still at the top of his game. There are no clear and present threats to his heavyweight supremacy because he has knocked them all off while cementing his spot at or near the top of boxing's pound-for-pound lists. He's at a point in his career where his options for quality opponents are limited. Some are too young, inexperienced and not yet deserving of a title opportunity (Moses Itauma), or are a relatively unknown commodity (Agit Kabayel). But regardless of this fact, Usyk's not ready to call it a career ... yet. "To me, he has already proven that he's an all-time great and he still has more left to keep fighting at the top level," retired former WBO lightweight champion Ray Beltran told ESPN. "I don't think he should retire yet, but I don't think anybody can beat him, and he has nothing else to prove." Usyk has been a dominant force since

Why Oleksandr Usyk has nothing left to prove -- an...

Key takeaways

More in sports