Oleksandr Usyk could retire instead of taking the next step at heavyweight. Team Usyk is weighing Agit Kabayel, and Sergey Lapin said a decision on Usyk’s future will be made by the end of the week.
Usyk, 39, is at a late-career crossroads. The WBC has ordered him to face Kabayel or give up his WBC title, so the choice now sits between a mandatory defense and a possible exit from the ring.
Lapin sets the terms
Lapin made clear that Team Usyk is not treating the fight as a public negotiation. He said, “Agit Kabayel is an excellent fighter, a worthy champion, and a man we respect. There is nothing personal here. But fights of this magnitude are not made through social media or public pressure.”
He added that “a serious offer, backed by serious people, the right commercial structure, broadcasters and site fee support, is how the biggest fights in the world are made.” That is the filter now: if the numbers and the opportunity do not work, the fight does not move.
The Kabayel route
Kabayel enters the picture with real leverage. He won the interim WBC belt in early 2025 by knocking out Zhilei Zhang in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, then defended it with a TKO win over Damian Knyba in Germany on January 10.
That run is why his case is being pushed as the next title step for Usyk. In May, Turki Alalshikh backed the idea of Kabayel as Usyk’s next opponent after Usyk’s win over Rico Verhoeven, and Lapin said Usyk had already begun to suggest more seriously that matchup before that fight.
WBC deadline and fallout
The WBC has given the Usyk and Kabayel teams until June 30 before the fight would go to purse bid. That leaves Team Usyk with a narrow window to decide whether the mandatory defense is worth making, or whether one of the “other paths and other major opportunities” Lapin mentioned becomes the better route.
Lapin said, “Oleksandr has earned the right to carefully evaluate every option.” For readers tracking the title picture, the next move is simple: wait for the end-of-week decision, because it will shape whether Kabayel gets his shot, whether the WBC title changes hands on paper, or whether Usyk stops here.
