Boxing
Oleksandr Usyk Targets Cruiserweight Return and Benavidez Fight in 2027, Advisor Says
Lappin described 2027 cruiserweight plans; no Benavidez fight is signed.
Oleksandr Usyk’s advisor says the heavyweight champion wants to return to cruiserweight in 2027, pursue a vacant world title and then seek a unification fight against David Benavidez.
Serhii Lappin described that sequence in comments reported Friday by BoxingScene’s Lance Pugmire. The proposed first step is a vacant IBF championship bout, followed by an attempt to become undisputed again in the division where Usyk first held all four major belts.
Lappin presented 2027 as the intended final chapter of Usyk’s career. No opponent or date for the initial title fight was confirmed in that account, and the Benavidez meeting remains an ambition rather than an announced agreement.
Benavidez already has another assignment. Premier Boxing Champions and DAZN announced his December 5 cruiserweight unification against Michal Cieslak at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, according to BoxingScene’s separate October 22 report.
That announcement followed Benavidez’s sixth-round stoppage of Gilberto Ramirez in May, which made him a three-division titleholder. His scheduled Cieslak fight therefore sits ahead of any possible Usyk negotiations on the calendar; its outcome has not been assumed.
The two unbeaten records show the scale of the proposed pairing. BoxingScene’s fighter database lists Usyk at 25–0 with 16 knockout wins across 217 professional rounds. Benavidez is 32–0 with 26 knockouts and 173 rounds recorded.
Usyk is 39 and a southpaw, listed at 6-foot-3 with a 78-inch reach. Benavidez is 29 and orthodox, listed at 6-foot-2 with a 74-inch reach. Those records and measurements describe their careers; they do not establish a result or a signed contest.
Benavidez’s scheduled meeting with Cieslak is a three-belt unification. The IBF belt falls outside that announced matchup, explaining the separate vacant-title step in the proposed return. Neither boxer has a loss entering those plans, although their next results and any future negotiations remain unresolved.
