Oleksandr Usyk has ruled out a future bout with Jake Paul and defended his decision to face kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven on May 23 in Egypt, telling the Associated Press the matchup qualifies as another “very good media fight” on the road to retirement.

Speaking to the AP ahead of the “Glory in Giza” card at the Pyramids of Giza, the unified heavyweight champion was asked about the possibility of following Anthony Joshua, Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather into a crossover bout with the YouTuber-turned-prizefighter.

“I don’t know because Jake (is) my friend now,” Usyk told the AP. “With Jake (a) fight is not possible, I think.”

Joshua knocked Paul out in six rounds in December, breaking Paul’s jaw in two places, according to Paul’s own post-fight account. Usyk’s comments contrast with earlier public exchanges between the two, including a September post on X in which Usyk wrote that he would be “waiting” for Paul in the cage after retirement, as reported by ESPN.

Defending the Verhoeven Booking

Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) has faced criticism for choosing Verhoeven, a Glory kickboxing veteran with one professional boxing bout on his record, over leading contenders such as WBO titleholder Fabio Wardley. The Ukrainian acknowledged the spectacle element of the bout while defending its place on his schedule.

“Rico is the absolute world champion in kickboxing and I am in boxing. For the fans, that’s not bad,” Usyk told the AP. “Most people don’t really understand professional sports. They just watch the picture, and people want bread and circuses. We, in turn, went through a certain period of conquering and achieving results. Now we’ll make some noise for a while and then return to specifically boxing opponents because there is a certain plan that we are building for ourselves.”

The WBC has sanctioned the bout as a voluntary defense of Usyk’s heavyweight title. The IBF granted Usyk an exception to participate in the unsanctioned-by-its-rules contest, with conditions tied to the rotation order of mandatory challengers.

Cognitive Training and Promova Role

Usyk also detailed a cognitive training program he says has become part of his preparation. The 39-year-old has taken on a role as chief discipline officer for the language-learning app Promova and told the AP he uses translation drills to sharpen in-ring decision-making.

“For example, someone says a word to me in Ukrainian and I have to answer in English, or he says something in English and I have to translate it,” Usyk said. “All of this keeps intensifying, and your head feels like it’s exploding.”

“Boxing is not chess. You have to think quickly in there,” he added.

Usyk has not fought since stopping Daniel Dubois in five rounds at Wembley Stadium in July 2025 to reclaim the undisputed heavyweight championship. The WBO title has since been vacated. He enters the Verhoeven fight as the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion.

“In the ring, when I’m boxing, for me, that’s where I’m really ecstatic,” Usyk told the AP. “I don’t like training. I don’t like doing this incredible work every single day. But I know it will simply help me perform better in the ring.”

Usyk has stated he intends to fight three more times before retiring. The Verhoeven bout is the first of those scheduled appearances.