Credit: Twitter
Ukrainian boxing star Oleksandr Usyk is set to defend his WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles as he will clash against United Kingdom’s Daniel Dubois at the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw, Poland on August 26. Oleksandr’s promoter Alex Krassyuk confirmed the news on Thursday. Usyk was earlier slated to clash against Tyson Fury, the WBC world heavyweight champion, at Wembley Stadium in April, but the negotiations fell through.
Usyk, a WBA (Super) champion, won his first world title in Poland and is seemingly excited about the coming bout. On the other hand, the 25-year-old Dubois holds the WBA (Regular) heavyweight belt. The English boxer has won 19 fights, with 18 knockouts, and has faced defeat once. Meanwhile, his Ukrainian rival holds the record of being undefeated in 20 of his professional fights, and most recently winning by split decision against Anthony in 2022.
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Notably, Usyk recently parted ways with Shane McGuigan and made a change in his training setup. He now works with Don Charles, who previously worked with British heavyweight Derek Chisora. The Simferopol-born is a unified champion of the heavyweight division, following back-to-back victories against English Anthony Joshua.
Poland is seemingly close to Usyk’s heart, and he paid tribute to Poland’s role in offering a place of refuge to Ukrainians during the war with Russia. He said, “I am very glad that we have the opportunity to fight in Poland, where I won my first world title seven years ago. I want to thank the Polish people who are helping Ukraine so much. Hundreds of thousands of my compatriots have been hosted by this wonderful country. Therefore, I hope that my fight will become one more opportunity for Ukrainians and the people of Poland to unite and strengthen our friendship.”
