Punch-up in Poland: Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois showdown set for summer
WBA Regular heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois (19-1, 18KO) will pursue his mandatory title shot against unified titlist Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13KO) on Saturday, August 26 in Wrocław, Poland, live on TNT Sports.
It's the classic match-up between skill and power. Despite both heavyweight champions sharing the same number of fights, Londoner Dubois has only been involved in 63 rounds, compared to the Ukrainian's 168. This is due to the explosive finishes 'Dynamite' has produced during his six-year career, with only one of his victories going past the halfway mark.
Usyk, however, totally surpasses the Brit in terms of achievements. As an amateur, the Eastern European won 335 from 350 bouts, collecting European, World and Olympic golds. The Greenwich giant also enjoyed an impressive career in a vest, with 69 wins and only six defeats, but is considerably dwarfed in comparison still.
Dubois holds the WBA Regular title but will be challenging 'The Cat' for his WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO world titles. Some fight fans believe it's mission impossible for the young 25-year-old, now trained by Don Charles after splitting from Shane McGuigan. Usyk is a former undisputed cruiserweight champion who has transitioned to the heavyweights after just two fights with Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora, to then win against Anthony Joshua to become a unified heavyweight world champion, which he has defended once already.
Some bookies have Dubois as an 8-1 outsider, but his team are fully confident that the challenger can spring an upset 864 miles from home.
Promoter, Frank Warren, is hugely confident his heavyweight charge, who he has guided to a dozen pro titles, will suprise everyone, "Daniel Dubois is going to absolutely screw this up for all of them [in the heavyweight division], he's gonna knock him the f**k out!"
Tale of the Tape
Usyk
Age: 36
Alias: The Cat
Bouts: 20
Rounds: 168
Wins: 20
Losses: 0
Draws: 0
KOs: 13
KO Ratio: 65%
Height: 6′ 3″ / 191cm
Reach: 78″ / 198cm
Trainer: Yuri Tkachenko
Manager: Egis Klimas
Promoter: Alexander Krassyuk
Dubois
Age: 25
Alias: Dynamite
Bouts: 20
Rounds: 63
Wins: 18
Losses: 1
Draws: 0
KOs: 18
KO Ratio: 90%
Height: 6′ 5″ / 196cm
Reach: 78″ / 198cm
Trainer: Don Charles
Promoter: Frank Warren
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