Oleksandr Usyk listed his ideal last three fights, starting with Rico Verhoeven in May, then winner Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois, and ending with a trilogy fight with the returning Tyson Fury.

Only the fight against Verhoeven is certain – which is controversial for Usyk’s WBC heavyweight title – and the remaining fights are still to be negotiated, but interim champion and mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel seriously questions that list.

In a conversation on Instagram, the German heavyweight said:

“My parents always told me to stay humble and respectful. But I can no longer accept being ignored. I deserve to fight for the title.”

In an interview with RTL/ntv and sport.de, Kabayel expanded on this point, saying that Usyk’s plan proves that “he is only interested in money.”

“I always respected Usyk very much for his sporting achievements and I said: ‘Hey, he’s not afraid of challenges and he keeps his words.’ But he is only interested in money; everything else doesn’t interest him. Now I noticed it again very clearly.

“How can he not name the number one in the rankings, his mandatory challenger? It’s just melancholy that he would rather fight Dubois or Fury for a third time, even though he has already beaten them both twice.”

Kabayel – who himself came to a draw in his last fight against Daniel Knyba – fully deserves a chance to win the full world title by defeating Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang to claim the WBC interim belt. Usyk has been cleared by the sanctioning body to fight him after Verhoeven, but the Ukrainian appears likely to vacate the belt or lobby for an undisputed fight against the winner of Wardley and Dubois.

Usyk is in danger of losing not only the WBC belt, but also the IBF and WBA belts. Neither promotion has commented on the Verhoeven fight and could very well have opted to get rid of Usyk rather than follow the WBC route of putting their belt on the line, which was met with extreme fan backlash.

Richard Torrez Jr’s road to a fight for the IBF heavyweight title was delayed after Frank Sanchez suffered a knee injury that forced their scheduled eliminator to withdraw from the March 28 event in Las Vegas. The fight was considered a key move in the IBF rankings, with the winner expected to move into mandatory challenger territory.

Top executive Carl Moretti confirmed that Torrez will not remain on the Fundora-Thurman card at MGM Grand after the eliminator is removed. The fight was scheduled to go live on pay-per-view, but our focus is now on setting a fresh date for when Sanchez can return to training.

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Last update: 2026/03/12 at 12:07

Jermaine Franklin is hoping a change of scenery and coaching will lead to an upset victory over the world’s hottest heavyweight.

Boxing has a fun way of building bonds between people that would probably never cross paths in any other industry.

From an outside perspective, it’s strange, for example, to imagine a 32-year-old American moving to the UK – staying primarily in Luton – and striking up a relationship with a Londoner in his 60s.

But funnily enough, that’s exactly what happened.

However, the story becomes a little less strange when it turns out that the American is a heavyweight boxer, and the Briton, a renowned trainer, often refers to himself as a “heavyweight specialist”.

The mystery duo is, of course, Jermaine Franklin and Don Charles, who joined forces ahead of the former’s clash with Moses Itauma in Manchester on March 28, and before that on January 24, before the Briton suffered a biceps injury during camp.

When Boxing News first spoke to Franklin on the Zoom phone a few weeks ago, the words “I’m in Luton now” came as quite a surprise.

Naturally, they tried to dig a little deeper to at least find out who he was training with, but the plot only thickened when Franklin gave a rather vague answer.

“You know, I like to keep my stuff private,” he says. “I don’t want to say too much, but we’re on The Farm.

That’s when the word “farm” emerged as a particularly revealing clue, enough for Boxing News to obtain further information from a reliable source.

Sure enough, the suspicions about Franklin and Charles’s partnership were suddenly confirmed, bringing a wry smile to the reporter’s face.

“I like it here, it reminds me of home,” Franklin continues, describing his up-to-date surroundings while remaining coy about his relationship with Charles.

However, once again the 6ft 3in challenger leaves very little to the imagination as anyone familiar with Luton will likely be able to imagine the environment he calls ‘home’.

“I would say growing up in Michigan was normal, like most American kids growing up in an urban community,” Franklin says.

“But Michigan is a little scratchy; there are probably five or six cities that are very scratchy around the edges.

“So being in that environment and finding my own identity in life, I would say it helped me become a fighter.

“Where I come from, you can’t back out of a lot of things. If you back out, you’re probably going to have more problems in the future.

“I’m not saying that everyone in Michigan is a gangster or that everyone is tough, but there are a lot of people who don’t tolerate anything.”

As you may have already noticed, Franklin is one of those people who certainly “doesn’t tolerate anything.”

Everything became clear after his promotional dispute with Dmitry Salita, which became the main topic of news ahead of the boxer’s 2023 fight with Anthony Joshua.

By then, Franklin had already taken legal action against Salita Promotions, alleging unfair contract terms, and ultimately found himself in a much more favorable position.

So now, although he can’t go into details, “Killer 989” is glad to have put this situation behind him.

“I can’t really comment on it, but the boxing business is just shit,” he says.

“Players have more power than they think and they need to know that everyone is working for them.

“Without us, there is no ‘everyone else’.” Many of us get pushed to the side and don’t get opportunities because we don’t want to do what someone else wants to do or we don’t agree with what they’re trying to do.

“We need a union or something. We need something to keep things in check and balance.”

“[Having overcome] my situation, I am very cheerful now. I can make my own decisions – I have the freedom to choose – and I have learned to never let these people talk to you like you have to do something. This is supposed to be a partnership in which we work together.

“If we don’t make decisions [together]then no one makes decisions. And that’s the most crucial thing – don’t let these people force you into situations you’re not ready for.”

Now, as he prepares to face Itauma – a 21-year-old prodigy who is widely predicted for world championship glory – Franklin firmly believes he is well-prepared to take on such a formidable challenge.

More specifically, a series of less-than-pleasant life experiences allowed him to view this task through a prism that suggests his fortitude is not artificial.

“Being where I come from has made me not afraid of things that might be threatening in some ways, but I’m not afraid,” she insists.

“In the ring, I don’t worry about what they worry about [his opponents] what they can do or how they can hurt me. I will tell these people to their face, “I am ready to die here.” And if you are not ready to do the same, you can choose something else.

“That mentality alone never allows me to waver or turn away from what I’m here to do. I’m here to fight, so we’re going to fight until the end.

“I just feel like we’re warriors here. What warrior do you know who goes into battle unprepared to die?”

“No warrior will ever be able to go to war if he is afraid of the outcome. In this sport, I know what can happen. I’m not saying I want it, but I know the dangers involved.”

While talking to Franklin, it quickly becomes clear that this man has taken his thoughts to some painfully dim places.

Perhaps most remarkably, the American learned that his father had died just two weeks before his final appearance, following an upset victory over Ivan Dychko in September, but he nonetheless remained focused on the task ahead and emerged victorious.

That Franklin made it through these ropes at all is ultimately a testament to his character.

And now that Charles is in his corner, it appears that the significant underdog will once again thwart the odds, this time against a player praised for his lively footwork and explosive attacks.

“[Itauma has] he has good feet, but not as good as everyone praises them,” says Franklin. “He doesn’t dance – he just moves forward and backward.

“I’m not disrespecting him, but I didn’t see any uniqueness in his footwork. I can do the same as him, so I don’t see it as an advantage.

– He’s not moving like hell [Vasily] Lomachenko or something. In my opinion, this is nothing extraordinary.”

It’s hardly surprising that Franklin, unlike the rest of us, sees his opponent as a much worse version of a man who knocks out heavyweights for fun.

For him, it’s just another opportunity to prove that when the odds are stacked against him, he has what it takes to jump over any obstacles put in front of him.

Time will tell if he can prove it against the extremely talented youngster from Itauma. But being locked away on some secret “farm” with a not-so-secret “heavyweight specialist” can’t hurt his chances.