On Saturday, Riley (15-0, 7 KOs) retained his European title and solidified his No. 2 standing in the IBF world rankings with a 12-round decision win over Seydi Coupe at London's OVO Arena.

Before proving himself as his generation's best heavyweight, Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) held the undisputed title at cruiserweight.

Over the past few months, there has been speculation over whether the great Ukrainian would meet Tyson Fury for the third time, rematch Rico Verhoeven or sail off into the sunset. Instead, Usyk sprung a surprise.

Serhii Lapin of Usyk’s Ready To Fight promotional company said the 39-year-old is considering a return to cruiserweight to “make history again”.

During the build-up to Riley's win over Coupe, the Briton's promoter Kalle Sauerland floated the idea of his man meeting Usyk at some point in the future.

The Ring's No. 8-rated cruiserweight Riley will need to win a world title belt to put himself in Usyk's orbit but the idea of fighting his generation's best fighter excites him.

“I don't know man. Hopefully,” the 29-year-old Londoner said when asked about the possibility of fighting Usyk.

“It would be crazy. Like I’ve said, I’m not only a participant in the game, but also a fan of the game and someone who's watched Usyk for many years.

“To see a fight poster that says Usyk-Riley, it'll be a big thing. Me and the team will relish in that moment that we had the opportunity and we're looking to win as well. We're not here to participate, plans will be put together to always get a win."

Before he can think seriously about fighting Usyk, Riley needs to secure his shot at the IBF title. In March, Ring champion Jai Opetaia was stripped of the crown for taking an unsanctioned fight with Brandon Glanton.

It looked like Riley would box Australia’s David Nyika for the vacant belt but with Opetaia contesting the sanctioning body’s decision through the courts, he kept busy by fighting Coupe.

With the Frenchman out of the way and Riley’s position in the IBF world rankings secure, Sauerland’s first point of business will be to beat the drum and ensure his man doesn’t get lost in legal red tape.

He also needs to plot a path forward and develop Riley into an attraction. The best way to do that is to link him with one of the most high-profile fighters on the entire planet.

Sauerland knows Usyk well, as the man behind the prestigious World Boxing Super Series. He had a ringside seat as Usyk ran through Marco Huck, Mairis Briedis, and Murat Gassiev to become undisputed at 200 pounds.

A few important pieces will need to fall into place but if Usyk is intent on returning to cruiserweight and reclaiming his throne, Sauerland wants to make Riley an unavoidable obstacle.

“I promoted Usyk at cruiserweight and got him the four belts,” Sauerland said.

“What a fantastic career — an amazing career — but his pinnacle was at the end of the World Boxing Super Series and maybe a year after as well. Eventually, age catches up and you know that’s certainly been the case in recent times and this man [Riley] gets better fight-to-fight, tonight was just another big step forward.

“He [Riley] is nowhere near where he's going to get to. I’d love to do that fight next year but first we're going to get a belt because we’ve got to have something at the table to negotiate with, that's going to be the IBF belt, you'll see it very soon.”