The friend, business partner and former promoter of Oleksandr Usyk believes the world heavyweight champion should follow the lead of the division’s previous peerless king, Lennox Lewis, and walk away at the top. Alex Krassyuk, who up until this year was Usyk’s promoter and remains close with the 38-year-old, said there is no reason for a fight with Fabio Wardley, now the consensus leading contender following Saturday’s victory over Joseph Parker.
“I am public in my [opinion], I want Usyk to retire as fast as possible,” Krassyuk told Boxing King Media. “I was even against his fight with [Daniel] Dubois, but okay, that made some sense to become three-time undisputed.”
Usyk won that fight emphatically in five rounds atop a huge event at Wembley Stadium. There has been plenty of speculation about what comes next for the two-division champion but Krassyuk, who continues to work closely with Usyk on the fighter’s other business interests, remains steadfast in his belief that his friend should leave the fighting behind. Particularly if his leading challenger is Wardley, a fighter Krassyuk believes is not well-known enough to generate a fitting purse.
“Give me one – not two, not three – but one reason to fight Wardley. With all respect to this guy, with all the credit to him, but I am thinking from Usyk’s perspective,” Krassyuk went on. “Even money is not the reason – unless a miracle happens and the magician comes in the helicopter with all the money and distributes it to try and conquer the land of boxing and paying, I don’t know, 50 million to Usyk. Then it might make sense.
“Otherwise, it does not make sense. Why should he risk everything that he gained over the last 13 years? If he loses, people will remember his loss only. Lennox Lewis is the best role model for this; it is better to leave one hour [early] than two minutes [too late].
“I am on the same page as many people who think about this strategically. The status of Usyk being undisputed, and being unbeaten, will stay with him until the end of his days.”
Krassyuk inferred that Usyk, a devoted family man, would struggle to find the motivation for a challenge like Wardley at this point in his decorated career.
“If [Usyk] has the motivation to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning, train three times, be away from his family for three or four months, to work hard, then probably yes, it makes sense [to continue fighting]. But will it bring him what he’s expecting to [earn]?
“Again, with all respect to Fabio Wardley, he is not a big name, it will be a fight between Usyk and an opponent, not generating [enough money at the] gate and Usyk taking a hard, stupid risk. It makes no sense.
“This is not me being an advisor or anything like that, it is just my way of thinking.”
