Undisputed world cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk takes his first step into heavyweight waters when he faces tough Carlos Takam at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland on May 25, live on DAZN in the US and Sky Sports in the UK.
Usyk (16-0, 12 KOs) has been the lightning rod in the cruiserweight division over the last 3 years, cleaning up the WBSS with his dominant victory over Murat Gassiev last July to become the first unified cruiserweight ruler since O’Neil Bell and possibly the most complete cruiserweight since Evander Holyfield, 3 decades ago..
Usyk made a bold statement last November in Manchester where he Knocked out Tony Bellew in the eighth round in his seventh world title victory and what now seems to have been a farewell performance in the 200 pound division..
Usyk has chosen a live test for his heavyweight debut, French based Takam 36-5-1 (28 Ko’s) has boxed some of the premiere fighters in the division, and 2 years ago gave a great account of himself in a world title challenge for Anthony Joshua’s IBF and WBA titles on short notice, dragging Joshua into the tenth round and breaking the champions nose.. Takam also gave solid accounts of himself against Joseph Parker and Dereck Chisora, losing out narrowly on both occasions..
“May 25 marks a major moment in my career when I move to the Heavyweight division,” said Usyk. “At cruiserweight, I did it all and became the undisputed champion and that is my goal now in the Heavyweights.
“This is the ultimate challenge and it begins on May 25 against Carlos Takam. It’s a tough first fight but I need to test myself against World class opposition on my new road to undisputed.”
“Usyk has achieved everything in the Cruiserweight division – I am ready to welcome him to the new world of Heavyweight boxing,” said Takam. “I can promise that this will be a great fight and I will provide Usyk with a huge test on his Heavyweight debut. I have huge ambitions of my own in the division and this fight will provide me with the chance to prove that.”
In an era of supersized heavyweights, Usyk is faced with an uphill struggle by naturally giving away very obvious mechanical advantages to the title holders, but by bringing more technical tools to the table, along with mobility and speed, Usyk may provide us with some very interesting entertainment over the next 12 months.. Usyk won Olympic gold at heavyweight back in 2012, but had previously boxed at super heavyweight, and in the WSB series beat our own Olympic Super-heavyweight silver medalist Joe Joyce, displaying cameos of what we should expect come May..
No undercard details have yet been released...
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