Krassyuk: 70% that Usyk will face Povetkin or Ortiz

Alexander Krassyuk, the promoter of the undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (16-0, 12 KOs) named the potential rivals for the Ukrainian.

“At the moment, we are not negotiating. Usyk and his team have a rest. But I can already say for sure that there are problems with the selection of opponents in the heavyweights. Parker and Miller refused to fight, Carlos Takam challenged Derek Chisora, and Dillian Whyte is likely to battle with Anthony Joshua in April,” said Krassyuk.

“Of the good opponents for the debut of Usyk in the heavyweights, only Alexande Povetkin and Luis Ortiz remained. With a probability of 70%, one of them will be Usyk's first heavyweight opponent.

“If we fail to agree on terms, Usyk will hold a mandatory defense in March against Denis Lebedev in the cruiserweights. At the end of next week, we will meet with Eddie Hearn and discuss everything.”