Oleksandr Usyk has shockingly opened the door for a potential fight in bare-knuckle boxing.
The WBO, WBA, and WBC heavyweight boxing champion is booked to defend his belts in a rematch with Tyson Fury at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 21.
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Usyk became the first-ever four-belt undisputed king of heavyweights when he dropped and outpointed ‘The Gypsy King’ over 12 rounds in May.
Since then, he’s relinquished the IBF belt and the organisation's interim champion, Daniel Dubois, has had his title upgraded ahead of a fight with Anthony Joshua on September 21.
The winners of both upcoming bouts are expected to face each other in another undisputed clash, but Usyk’s ‘Camp Manager’ recently revealed they are thinking about taking another route.
Sergey Lapin, who is a former professional boxer and Usyk’s long-time friend, reached out to Conor McGregor with a message on Saturday.
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The UFC legend recently acquired a stake in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and has been heavily promoting the fledging fight company on his social media channels.
It appears he has caught the attention of one of boxing’s biggest stars.
Lapin wrote on Instagram: “Hey bro, Conor McGregor!”
“First Oleksandr Usyk has to retire Tyson Fury, but our team is ready to make something great together with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Let’s talk.”
Lapin doubled down on his comments during a recent interview.
He said: “He’s proven he’s the best of his generation and, once he’s retired Tyson Fury, he will consider his options.
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“Maybe that's dropping down in weight again, or maybe there's a wildcard option on the table for him; be it in the boxing ring, the MMA cage or even Conor McGregor's Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship."
Usyk proved it wasn’t all just talk from his representative when he reposted Lapin’s comments to his Instagram story, tagged McGregor and wrote ‘Let’s talk’ as the caption.
The Irishman showed he’s interest by reposting Usyk’s story to his own.
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McGregor also left a comment on a post featuring Lapin’s quotes, writing: “USYK IN BARE KNUCKLE!”
Watch this space as the most unexpected collaboration between Usyk and McGregor may manifest into an actual bare-knuckle fight for the boxing icon in 2025.
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