July 10, (THEWILL) – Ukrainian world heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk, aims to bring glory to Ukraine as he gears up to defend his titles against Daniel Dubois of Great Britain on August 26, in Wroclaw, Poland.
With an unblemished record of 20 wins, Usyk’s last title defence was against Anthony Joshua, where he retained the WBA ‘super’, IBF, WBO, and Ring magazine belts in Saudi Arabia. This will be Usyk’s first fight in Poland since 2015 when he won the WBO world cruiserweight title. The selection of Wroclaw as the fight location serves as a tribute to the Ukrainian refugees, who sought refuge in Poland after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Usyk credits the ongoing war efforts of his fellow Ukrainians for allowing him to continue his successful boxing career. He said: “I want to thank the guys, who are defending Ukraine now. Only for the reason we are doing this, we have the opportunity to defend our titles, to have our fights outside of Ukraine and bring glory to our country and the flag of our country.”
Dubois, who earned his position as the mandatory challenger to Usyk, secured his spot by delivering a knockout victory over American Trevor Bryan in June 2022, thus claiming the WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title. Although his last fight took place on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s bout with Dereck Chisora in December, where he defeated Kevin Lerena by knockout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Dubois is eager to face the heavyweight champion.
Dubois was knocked down three times in the first round against Lerena but the British boxer displayed resilience and ultimately stopped Lerena in the third round. He views this upcoming bout against Usyk as an opportunity to prove himself and seize the moment of a lifetime.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
