Former super middleweight world champion George Groves is not convinced that Oleksandr will fight Tyson Fury, but he backs the Ukrainian to beat the Briton should the pair meet.
Fury fights Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Saturday evening - live on DAZN in most countries (check here for details) in his first fight of the year, but there have been numerous hints that he will fight again against Usyk to decide the undisputed status of the heavyweight division, in either December or January.
Groves is unsure of how certain any fight is despite some recent announcements from both fighters.
He told Grosvenor Sport: “They've announced Usyk-Fury but whether it's actually properly done or not, who knows?
“They haven't announced a date, they haven't done a press conference for it. I might be sceptical that it happens at all to be honest, just a little bit sceptical - I think the timing of the announcement is interesting. It builds a lot of excitement and a lot of headlines for Fury’s fight within Ngannou, so that makes sense why they would announce it now.
“I think it's a possibility. I’m not saying it’s definitive because Usyk has announced it as well, so I don’t doubt that something’s been signed, but the timing of it is interesting.
“Fury’s already exceeded his earning capacity more than everyone else, so I'm sure it's much more important to him right now to be the main man and to tell everyone he's the best fighter in the world than it is to get a significant payday and risk losing against the guy who is in form and who is technically very good, unbeaten and dangerous.”
While Fury is the bigger man, Groves believes Usyk has the abilities to trouble the WBC champion.
“Fury's got a lot more to lose than Usyk does in terms of him proclaiming he’s the people's champion and being the best fighter on the planet,” he explained.
“Usyk is six inches shorter, and probably naturally three stone lighter, so technically Fury can't lose to him. He diminished Usyk’s achievements but all of this creates a lot of pressure for Fury.”