Ukrainian contender Oleksandr Usyk has set his sights on becoming boxing's undisputed heavyweight world champion after securing a unanimous points win over Britain's Derek Chisora on Saturday night.
Usyk, who was the undefeated and undisputed champion at cruiserweight, has made the move up to heavyweight and after a routine win over late replacement Chazz Witherspoon on debut last year, faced a much tougher challenge in the experienced Chisora at The SSE Arena in London.
After weathering some early aggression from the 36-year-old Englishman, Usyk's superior boxing skills shone through on his way to a 117-112, 115-113, 115-113 victory, extending his perfect professional record to 18 fights. The result delivered a 10th defeat of Chisora's 42-fight career.
Usyk, 33, remains the mandatory challenger for Anthony Joshua's WBO title, and the Ukrainian said he expects to contend for the belt in 2021.
Whether Usyk faces Joshua for that belt – as well as the IBF and WBA straps also in the Briton's possession – could depend on whether the champion safely comes through his December 12 bout against Bulgaria's Kubrat Pulev.
Joshua has also agreed to two fights next year with WBC champion Tyson Fury, who is also expected to defend his title next month.
Whichever way the situation plays out, Usyk only has eyes for all the belts. When asked about his future plans, the Ukrainian said: "Not just world champion, the undisputed world champion."
Reflecting on his performance against Chisora, Usyk rated himself three out of 10 and said he will continue to work hard to adapt to the heavyweight division.
"It's a real test in heavyweight," he said. "Chisora a big guy, a hard guy. I was expecting a fight like that, I was expecting a tougher fight.
"My plan is to go to my home, maximum time with my family. Training and improving myself."
🗣️ @usykaa has a message for @anthonyfjoshua 👋 pic.twitter.com/SGYTZHMJtC
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) November 1, 2020
Chisora admitted he was "gutted" by the defeat and believed he was hard done by on the judges scorecard. Chisora, who has once contested a world title fight when he faced Vitaly Klitschko in 2012, often reserves his best performances for the biggest fights and Saturday was no different. He was the early aggressor and stayed with Usyk for the first half of the bout before the Ukrainian started to pull away in the later rounds.
"I feel great. I was pushing the pace," Chisora said. "I'm just disappointed with the result, gutted.
"To everybody who can't make it [to the fight], I'm gutted for everybody. In the heavyweight game, you have to fight not box. I gave a couple of rounds away."
Davis delivers brutal KO win
A few hours later and across the Atlantic, unbeaten American Gervonta Davis produced a stunning knockout of Leo Santa Cruz to retain his WBA lightweight championship and take the Mexican's WBA junior lightweight title at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
After a first half of the fight that saw Santa Cruz create his fair share of opportunities, Davis lived up to his "Tank" nickname by delivering a ferocious uppercut in the sixth round to spark out his opponent and move his perfect record to 24 wins with 23 KOs.
"First, I want to say, I'm a pay-per-view star. Second, I ain't dodging nobody," said 25-year-old Davis, a protege of the former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. "I'm going to continue to show the world that I am No 1. I don't have to call nobody out. I'm the top dog and everyone knows that. Just set them up and I'll knock them down, one by one."
