Ukraine's unified WBA/WBO/IBF/IBO heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk will defend his titles against WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois on Saturday, August 26 at Tarczynski Arena Wroclaw in Wroclaw, Poland.
Usyk, a 36-year-old southpaw who hopes to become the undisputed king in a second weight class, will spend Ukrainian Independence Day weekend putting his belts on the line against London's hard-hitting Dubois.
Promoted by K2 Promotions, in association with Queensberry, Usyk-Dubois and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the United States starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.
Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs), a two-time Olympian and 2012 gold medalist, ended his amateur career with a record of 335-15. He turned pro in 2013 and secured the WBO cruiserweight world title in September 2016 by defeating Krzysztof Glowacki. In 2018, he became the undisputed cruiserweight champion in the World Boxing Super Series, claiming the WBC title against Mairis Breidis in January and the WBA and IBF belts from Murat Gassiev in July. He defended his crown with an eighth-round TKO against Tony Bellew in November before moving up to heavyweight with a seventh-round stoppage victory against Chazz Witherspoon in October 2019. After a decision win over Derek Chisora in October 2020, Usyk defeated unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to become unified champion the following September. Usyk returns after defeating Joshua in their August 2022 rematch.
Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) started his career in the paid ranks in April 2017 with a first-round TKO against Marcus Kelly. He went 15-0 with 14 knockouts in his first three years as a pro before suffering his first setback, a 10th-round stoppage loss to Joe Joyce in November 2020. Since then, he’s won four straight, including a fourth-round knockout against unbeaten American contender Trevor Bryan. The 25-year-old slugger is coming off a third-round TKO win against Kevin Lerena last December.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois is Picked Up By ESPN+
Comments
Murray KelmWed Jul 19, 2023, 2:42 AM UTC
Dubious took a lot of criticism in his last fight because of the knockdowns, but he showed a lot of character getting up and finishing Lerena, while injured.
juggernaut666Wed Jul 19, 2023, 2:28 AM UTC
DAZN has much better boxing cards then ESPN , I have both but get serious, lol..DAZN is a pure boxing app in the states really . ESPN is not , it’s a total package of sorts including UFC when it’s a free card . Pure boxing is for DAZN it’s not close ,ESPN you get more for your money if you like MMA and are
PigeonsWed Jul 19, 2023, 2:26 AM UTC
That's interesting. Usyk's last five fights have been on DAZN. Before that, strangely, his entire three-fight title-winning WBSS run was not televised in the U.S. That came off two HBO fights which is the last time his fights have aired live on U.S. TV instead of streaming.
Boricua181Wed Jul 19, 2023, 2:22 AM UTC
I hear you load, and clear Scooby817, I'm doing the same thing that you've done. ESPN+ is a better bang for your buck, than DAZN is.
Once my subscription runs out with DAZN this fall, I probably won't be resubscribing with them, for various reason's.:boxing:
JohnnyCanWed Jul 19, 2023, 2:10 AM UTC
I’m with you on that one Joseph. Dubois is a talented, big, strong heavyweight. Easily top ten. Usyk is going to have to on point and fight a very smart gameplan. Hopefully everything goes to plan for Usyk.