By Jake Donovan
A purse bid hearing has been ordered for the mandatory cruiserweight title fight between defending champ Krzysztof Glowacki and unbeaten challenger Oleksandr Usyk.
The session - open to all promoters who are registered with the World Boxing Organization (WBO) - will be held June 9 in New York City. The minimum accepted bid will be $300,000.
Glowacki (26-0, 16KOs) will attempt the second defense of the belt he earned in a Fight of the Year-level 11th round knockout of long-reigning champ Marco Huck last August. The breathtaking war saw the unbeaten boxer from Poland hit the deck in round six before rallying back hard in that very same frame, eventually moving in for the kill and flattening Huck inside the championship rounds.
The 29-year old was forced to spend the majority of his celebration tour on the injured list before returning to the ring with a 12-round decision over former champ Steve Cunningham this past April.
Usyk (9-0, 9KOs) has raced to the top in his short time as a pro. The 29-year old knockout artist scored a Gold medal for Ukraine in the 2012 London Olympics, entering the pro ranks one year later and wreaking havoc on the cruiserweight division,
The lone setback in his career has been an injury that forced him out of a planned stay-busy bout this past spring. As a result, Usyk has not fought since a 7th round stoppage victory over Pedro Rodriguez this past December.
It wasn't an ideal situation heading into his first career title fight, but Usyk already knew he was guaranteed the opportunity. The WBO allowed Glowacki to take on a voluntary defense versus Cunningham on the condition that the winner would face the unbeaten contender.
Glowacki and Usyk immediately began negotiations for their planned showdown, but Warriors Promotions and K2 Promotions-Ukraine, respectively, were unable to come to terms, thus leading to the WBO's ordered purse bid hearing.
The session will be part of an active week in New York City, coming roughly around the same time as the final pre-fight press conference for a planned HBO-televised doubleheader at Madison Square Garden Theatre.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2
