Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois: Heavyweight champion to defend titles as fight with Tyson Fury falls through

Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk will prepare to defend his WBO, WBA (Super) and IBF titles when he takes on British boxer Daniel Dubois in Poland later this summer.

It had been expected that the Ukrainian fighter, who twice defeated Anthony Joshua, would face Tyson Fury in what would have been the first undisputed heavyweight fight in the four-belt era. However, talks broke down over disagreements pertaining to a rematch clause and a purse split.

It now looks unlikely that the historic Usyk-Fury fight will take place this year but Usyk’s camp is still hopeful that a win over Dubois in August could “lead to the biggest clash in the world”.

First, however, Usyk must defend his titles against the mandatory WBA challenger and here is all that is known about the fight so far...

When is Usyk vs Dubois?

The two fighters will meet in the ring on 26 August, two days after Ukraine’s Independence Day, and they will fight at the 24,000-capacity Tarczynski Arena in Poland.

How to watch Usyk vs Dubois

At the moment, it appears the fight will be available to watch on TNT Sports Pay-Per-View, the new brand name for BT Sport which is due to go live on 18 July in the UK. It will be the first boxing PPV under the new name.

How do the pair match-up?

Dubois, 25, stands at 6ft5in tall and has a reach of 78 inches. He fights in an orthodox stance and of his 20 professional fights, he has won 19 and 18 of them by knockout.

His only loss came in his 16th fight back against fellow Briton Joe Joyce in 2020. Despite being ahead on two of the three judges’ scorecards, Dubois took a knee in the 10th round and failed to beat the count.

After being rushed to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a broken orbital bone and nerve damage to his left eye, he returned to the ring in June 2022 where he won the WBA (regular) title to become number one challenger. In December he then stopped South Africa’s Kevin Lerena in the third round after being knocked down three times in the first round himself.

Usyk, on the other hand, is the undefeated heavyweight champion and has won 13 of his 20 fights by knockout. The 36-year-old is 6ft3in tall and has a reach of 78 inches, fighting in a southpaw stance.

What’s been said?

Daniel Dubois has said of his upcoming opponent: “He is a great fighter and I do respect him, but it’s my time now. I’m going to shock the world and show people how good Daniel Dubois really is.”

His promoter, Frank Warren - who is also the UK promoter for Tyson Fury - has said of him: “To the outside world, Daniel is a big outsider. But here at Queensberry we are supremely confident in his ability to cause a major upset and achieve the status he set out to realise when he turned professional with us back in 2017.”

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian heavyweight champion of the world has said: “I am very glad that we have the opportunity to organise my 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 sincerely. 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 people of Poland to unite and strengthen our friendship.”