This night was in the making for nearly two years. Having been defeated back in August 2023 in Poland, Daniel Dubois entered the ring with intentions to do what a horse had done to Oleksandr Usyk in his youth—knock him out cold. However, the Ukrainian is no longer a child, and Dubois was no horse. Reality had started to settle in, and ‘The Cat’ started dancing. 

With Jake Paul, Jason Statham, and the entire world watching and chanting ‘Usyk, Usyk,’ the Ukrainian dropped Dubois in the fifth round twice before referee Michael Griffin put Dubois out of his misery, counting him out. Arms in the air, tears in his eyes, the 38-year-old had become a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion. What next?

DAZN Boxing’s Ade Oladipo posed the question everyone was wondering as he approached the undefeated, top pound-for-pound star. “Nothing, it’s enough,” Usyk replied, sparking speculation about his possible retirement. “Next, I don’t know. I wanna rest… back in home, my wife, children.. I wanna rest now, maybe 2-3 months, just rest.”

However, Usyk wasn’t ready to leave his fans completely in the dark. “Maybe Tyson Fury,” he said when asked about his next fight. “Maybe, we have 3 options—Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua. Maybe, Joseph Parker. Listen, I can not now say…. I wanna go back home.” It’s worth noting that interim WBO champion Joseph Parker is currently the WBO mandatory challenger, now that Usyk has defended his titles. 

Parker has long expressed interest in facing Usyk, making him the likely frontrunner—if Usyk decides to continue. Meanwhile, Tyson Fury has all but confirmed his return, openly stating his desire to face Usyk in a trilogy. If that happens, and Usyk chooses Fury over Parker, he could risk being stripped of the WBO belt. However, heavyweights aren’t the only ones vying to face Usyk next. 

Jake Paul challenges Oleksandr Usyk after the Daniel Dubois win

Previously, Jake Paul’s business partner, Nakisa Bidarian, revealed that discussions had taken place with Oleksandr Usyk’s team regarding a potential MMA bout. “Usyk has called Jake out multiple times in MMA. They’ve been in touch with us behind the scenes. That’s a fight they want in 2026,” he stated. 

Now, following Usyk’s latest victory, Paul was ready to make his move. “Congrats to one of the greatest heavyweights of all time @usykaa on a huge win,” Paul wrote on X, sharing a clip of their face-off in the ring after Usyk’s win over Daniel Dubois. “I respect you a lot. Now we do an MMA match for the world.” If the crossover fight does materialize, it will most likely take place under Paul’s PFL (Professional Fighters League) banner.

It appears Oleksandr Usyk has all the options he could dream of for his next fight, even Jake Paul. However, it’s yet to be seen who Usyk ends up choosing. Who would you want to watch Usyk fight next?