Oleksandr Usyk has a tattoo of London and the Olympic rings across his left forearm, and he will return to the site of his 2012 Olympics gold medal winning performance for the second time as a pro looking to solidify his standing in the heavyweight division when he takes on Derek Chisora in a showdown on May 23 at the 02 Arena in London.

Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs),the former unified and undisputed cruiserweight champion, will be fighting for just the second time as a heavyweight when he takes on the seasoned and tested Chisora (32-9, 23 KOs).

“The Derek Chisora fight will be a huge challenge for me,” Usyk said in an interview posted on Matchroom Boxing. “I haven't yet realized being a heavyweight … I will prepare and train hard as I usually do. Boxing inspires me. We will put on a great show for the fans. I love the UK fans because they are experts in boxing. It makes me want to come back.”

Usyk made his heavyweight debut in October with an uninspiring stoppage against Chazz Witherspoon in Chicago. Heading into the fight, he recovered from a bicep injury as well as multiple fight cancellations, postponements and switches in opponents.

The southpaw slugger fought as a cruiserweight for the last time in his first pro fight in London at the Manchester Arena in 2018 with a TKO win over Tony Bellew during the inaugural World Boxing Super Series.

Usyk will be fighting Chisora while he awaits for his WBO mandatory matchup against Anthony Joshua. Joshua, in the meantime, will be moving forward with his IBF mandatory against Kubrat Pulev on June 20.

The 33-year-old Ukrainian doesn’t see it as a distraction that he has to get through Chisora first in order to meet Joshua after in what has been a chaotic and unpredictable heavyweight division of late.

“I don't treat it like a problem,” he said. “I treat it like a challenge. Big things are waiting for me.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports and hosts his own radio show in Los Angeles. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com.