Turki Alalshikh is already looking beyond Saturday’s fight against Rico Verhoeven, revealing that Oleksandr Usyk could headline another major event next year in Istanbul.
Alalshikh made the comments during Thursday’s final press conference in Egypt ahead of Usyk’s WBC heavyweight title defense against Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza. He stopped short of naming an opponent, but hinted that plans are already in motion for another spectacle event in 2027.
“I won’t bother dreaming of someone beating him. For that, I will not think until I see Saturday what he has inside,” said Turki Alalshikh about Usyk.
“We are planning for something to give to Usyk in the future.
“We are thinking, and I know he doesn’t want to talk about the future, but we are planning, and I want to give a small secret. We are planning to do something amazing in Istanbul. The people in Istanbul and the government in Istanbul to do something amazing next year.”
Fans on social media quickly connected Turki’s Istanbul comments to unbeaten WBC interim heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel, a German fighter with Turkish roots who is already positioned as Usyk’s mandatory challenger. Kabayel has repeatedly said he wants the winner of Saturday’s fight against Rico Verhoeven.
Usyk, who turns 40 in January, has said several times that he believes he only has a few fights left before retirement. He has recently mentioned having “two, maybe three” fights remaining in his career.
Saturday’s event in Egypt is already being promoted as one of the most unusual settings in modern boxing, with Usyk and Verhoeven fighting beneath the Pyramids of Giza. Turki’s latest comments suggest the Istanbul event could follow the same blueprint of turning Usyk fights into global destination spectacles rather than standard title defenses.
USYK IN ISTANBUL NEXT YEAR ‼️
Turki Alalshikh announces that Oleksandr Usyk is set to fight in another special event in 2027 👀
Glory in Giza | May 23rd | LIVE on DAZN 🥊 pic.twitter.com/rLYUjEL964
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) May 21, 2026
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Last Updated on 2026/05/21 at 4:57 PM
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