Artur Beterbiev apparently is open to the idea of rekindling his rivalry with Oleksandr Usyk.

Beterbiev, the IBF, WBO, and WBC 175-pound champion from Russia, fought Ukraine’s Usyk a few times in the amateur ranks. According to Boxrec, Beterbiev won once, in 2007, and lost the other two times, in 2011 and 2012, the last being the men’s heavyweight quarter finals of the 2012 London Olympics. Usyk, the current WBO, WBA, and IBF heavyweight champion and former undisputed cruiserweight champion, would go on to win gold.

After a presser Monday afternoon in London to announce his fight with Anthony Yarde on Jan. 28, Beterbiev was asked if he still had interest in facing Usyk. The answer was a resounding yes, although Beterbiev refrained from boasting that he would win, saying instead that he believes he presents a unique challenge to Usyk in the ring.

“Very happy if this fight happens in the professionals,” Beterbiev said of a matchup with Usyk in an interview with iD Boxing. “I believe I can give him something in the professionals. I can give him very good fight. I don’t want to say I will beat him, even if I will beat him, I don’t want to say it.”

Both fighters have had successful professional careers so far, although Usyk’s credentials outstrip Beterbiev at this point. The skilled southpaw will likely have a chance next year to become the undisputed heavyweight champion if he defeats WBC heavyweight titlist Tyson Fury.

In 2020, Beterbiev revealed that he was at one point keen on fighting Usyk when the latter held all four cruiserweight titles, and that he might have even signed with Usyk's then promoter, Matchroom, if they were able to guarantee him a fight with Usyk. In the end, Beterbiev linked up with rival outfit Top Rank.

Beterbiev’s road to becoming an undisputed champion is more complicated because of corporate politics at 175. The other lone titlist in the division, WBA beltholder Dmitry Bivol, is aligned with a Matchroom, which rarely does business with Beterbiev’s promoter Top Rank.

Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs), who lives and trains in Montreal, had a minor knee operation after his second-round stoppage of Joe Smith Jr. last June at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The surgery forced his promoter to reschedule the fight with Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs), which was originally scheduled for December, into the new year.