Mike Tyson urged Oleksandr Usyk to face one of his closest rivals instead of an immediate rematch with Rico Verhoeven.

The Ukrainian is clearly considering his options after his last outing, which ended with: a somewhat controversial 11th round victory over Verhoeven.

Surprisingly, Usyk found himself in a competitive battle with the former kickboxer, whose only previous professional boxing match allowed him to stop the journeyman in the second round of their 2014 meeting.

As such, Verhoeven was considered the clear underdog, but he nonetheless put in a commendable performance last month, staying in contention with the heavyweight champion for 10 completed rounds.

Then the Dutchman suffered a knockdown, and referee Mark Lyson waved him off, and his intervention took place after the signal.

Despite both pairs calling for an immediate rematch, Usyk was ordered to defend his WBC title against mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel.

As the WBC “interim” champion, Kabayel has been waiting for his chance to win the full title since stopping Zhilei Zhang with a sixth-round body attack in February 2025.

And although the 33-year-old has shown considerable patience during this time, he is clearly feeling increasingly frustrated with the situation, so much so that he posted social media clip “Iron Mike” demanding that Usyk defend the WBC, IBF and WBA titles against him.

“Usyk, we’re waiting for you, brother. We need you, Usyk. We need this money, baby. Come get it.”

Usyk must now decide whether to face Kabayel, who has established himself as the most deserving contender, or to relinquish the WBC belt and pursue a rematch with Verhoeven.

Alternatively, he can simply hang up the gloves and, at the age of 39, embark on a brilliant career.

Fury and Joshua remain linked to the highly anticipated all-British heavyweight clash, with recent discussions focusing not only on whether the fight will eventually happen, but also on who will oversee its promotion. Although Fury has spent much of his career working with Frank Warren and Joshua was Matchroom Boxing’s banner star under Eddie Hearn, Sauerland sees value in bringing a different voice.

Addressing growing speculation about White’s possible role, Sauerland explained why he thinks the UFC president could support expand the event’s reach beyond the UK.

“If Turki wants Dana to run him, it makes total sense because he has American eyes,” Sauerland told Seconds Out.

“There will be a strategic reason if they want to bring in Dana White. If they are going to bring in Dana White, it will have something to do, I assume, with America, where this fight means very little.

“It’s a huge fight in the UK at the moment. I mean, huge doesn’t really do it justice. Here it’s gigantic, but in America people don’t queue to watch this fight.”

Sauerland also pointed to White’s success in building the UFC as a dominant force in the U.S. combat sports market.

“Bringing in Dana brings a UFC element to the fight,” Sauerland said. “Let’s face it, MMA in America has been the dominant combat sport in America for the last 15, 20 years.

“Boxing, if boxing works in America, is still by far the biggest sport. So I understand from a business standpoint why they would do it.”

White is becoming an increasingly influential figure in boxing thanks to his collaboration with Turki Alalshikh and the launch of Zuffa Boxing. While no agreement has been announced for Fury and Joshua to finally meet in the ring, Sauerland’s comments underscore why White’s involvement may go beyond promotional news.

The heavyweight competition has long been one of boxing’s biggest unrealized events. While the contest would likely sell out a stadium in the UK regardless of who promoted it, Sauerland believes Dana White’s ability to reach grassroots combat sports fans in the United States could make the Joshua vs. Fury fight a truly global spectacle.

Tim Bradley listed probably the biggest challenge for Oleksandr Usyk, who some say should hang up his gloves after the clash with Rico Verhoeven.

Last month, the Ukrainian endured a tougher-than-expected test against Verhoeven, which ended with a controversial suspension following an 11th-round knockout.

Until then Usyk was losing on one of the judges’ scorecards However, he managed to inspire the intervention of referee Mark Lyson, who waved at Verhoeven after the bell.

Indeed, it was controversial while on duty, however, the real story is that Verhoeven, a former kickboxer, was able to last 11 rounds with the heavyweight king.

Perhaps it was because Usyk underestimated his opponent, or perhaps his performance would be better explained by a text message he received from his daughter, who contacted him from a bomb shelter in Ukraine before the fight.

Either way, the 39-year-old would need to significantly improve his performance if he faces WBC “interim” champion Agit Kabayel in his next fight.

I keep talking his YouTube channelBradley said Kabayel, who has previously stopped fighters such as Zhilei Zhang and Frank Sanchez, posed a real threat to Usyk’s dominance as WBC, IBF and WBA world champion.

“You have a guy like Kabayel who has been waiting for a while. This might be the right time for him [to defeat Usyk].

“Usyk’s aged manager [Alex Krassyuk] he said, “You must go ahead and retire, because if you don’t retire, you will be defeated.”

“[Krassyuk] I didn’t like what he saw against Rico, but I have hope for him in this fight [with Kabayel] what’s happening next. Fighting Kabayel will be tough for him.

“This guy can punch, he can punch the body very well, he can move and box, he can get forward, he can counter-punch – he can do a little bit of everything.”

Having been ordered to defend his WBC title against Kabayel, Usyk must now decide whether to face the undefeated challenger or vacate the belt and pursue alternative options.