Alistair Overeem, 46, details boxing comeback and Usyk camp stint

Alistair Overeem has not fought since October 2022, and at 46 he says he is coming back in a different sport. The Dutchman announced on Instagram on Oct. 13 that he will box professionally, and in a new YouTube training video he explained why.

His reasoning is about opportunity. Overeem says kickboxing's platform has cooled and that the UFC now fills most of the MMA space, with other promotions holding little appeal for him. Boxing, by contrast, looks like where the big events are, with major shows in Saudi Arabia and in Dubai, where he is now. A friend took him to hit pads, he says he did it well, and he enjoyed it.

The preparation is the more concrete part. Overeem says he held a training camp with the team of Oleksandr Usyk, the first four-belt heavyweight champion, and was welcomed as part of the group. Anthony Joshua was there too. Joshua's own next fight is already booked: Tyson Fury on Dec. 11. Overeem also says he ran a half marathon in February as a test of whether his body would hold up, and that it did.

Overeem's pedigree is in kickboxing and MMA. He points to K-1, Strikeforce and DREAM titles, and his last fight was a kickboxing bout against Badr Hari at GLORY in October 2022. He has never boxed professionally in the record we hold, so how he is matched will say a lot about how seriously the sport takes the comeback.

He calls it "a comeback within a comeback" (translated), and says he has been written off before. He promises a new standard, with a new team, new coaches and a new direction.

What comes next is the announcement itself. Overeem has teased fight news soon, but no opponent, date or venue is public yet.