Oleksandr Usyk’s title defence against Daniel Dubois made official

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Oleksandr Usyk’s next fight has been made official, as the Ukrainian defends the unified heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois in Poland in August.

Usyk, 36, will put the belts on the line against the 25-year-old Briton at the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw on 26 August.

The bout came together following the collapse of talks between Usyk and WBC champion Fury, who were expected to clash in London in April. A fight between the undefeated pair, to crown an undisputed champion, is still on the cards, with Saudi Arabia the frontrunner to host the contest this winter. However, many in boxing doubt that the fight will materialise.

In any case, Usyk’s focus is now on Dubois, who is the mandatory challenger to the WBA title, which Usyk holds alongside the WBO, IBF and IBO belts.

“Ready for my chance!” Dubois wrote on social media. “I hope you are @usykaa.” Usyk simply wrote: “See you 26 august.”

Dubois has a professional record of 19-1 with 18 knockout wins, while the sole defeat of his pro career came in 2020, when he suffered a fractured eye socket en route to a TKO loss to Joe Joyce. Last time out, Dubois recovered from multiple knockdowns to stop Kevin Lerena in December.

Meanwhile, Usyk is 20-0 as a pro with 13 KO wins. The Olympic gold medalist most recently fought Anthony Joshua in August, outpointing the Briton for the second fight in a row. With that result last summer, the southpaw retained the unified titles that he took from “AJ” in the pair’s first clash.

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