Oleksandr Usyk Set to Face Daniel Dubois for 2023’s First Heavyweight Title Showdown

The potential bout between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury hasn’t come to fruition, leaving the boxing fans disappointed so far. The Heavyweight division has been inactive so far, and it appears that it will only see some activity in the latter half of the year. With the talks of Deontay Wilder potentially facing Andy Ruiz Jr. prior to his bout against Anthony Joshua and the possibility of Fury facing former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, things are starting to look up.

There are rumors going around that the highly anticipated bout between ‘The Gypsy King’ and Usyk may end up happening in Saudi Arabia. His manager even recently revealed that Usyk’s “all done, signed & sealed”. In the meanwhile, Usyk is finally all set to face his mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois. Fans will finally get to witness the first Heavyweight title showdown this year.

Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois: Date and Venue

The first Heavyweight title bout for 2023 has finally been announced. According to BoxingScene.com, the Usyk-Dubois bout will be a headline event of a TNT Sports Pay-Per-View event. Moreover, the date of the fight is set to be on August 24. The venue will be Stadion Wroclaw (Tarczynski Arena Wroclaw) in Wroclaw, Poland. The bout will be of significance as this will be the first major Heavyweight bout this year that will have Usyk’s title on the line. Furthermore, its result will shape the course of the fights later on which might have potentially involved Usyk. The title consolidation bout was ordered by WBA.

The winner of the bout will become the sole WBA Heavyweight champion and the ‘Regular’ belt will be eliminated. This is owing to the sanctioning body currently trying to reduce the number of titles. What’s more is that this will the second time ‘The Cat’ will be defending his titles after winning them in September 2021. The fight’s location was picked to be Poland because of the financial support from Krassyuk and the increased Ukrainian population in the neighboring country amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The event was postponed by two weeks to align with Ukraine’s Independence Day. The bout definitely has fans interested and some of them recently even shared their views while reacting to Usyk’s training clip.

Deontay Wilder claims Usyk is “Terrified” of him

Deontay Wilder is currently working on securing his comeback. He is coming off a fresh first round knockout victory against Robert Helenius. Moreover, he is in the process of finalizing his December bout against AJ. In a recent interview with 78SPORTSTV, the former Heavyweight champion, shared his thought on a potential bout against Usyk.

‘The Bronze Bomber’ claimed that the Ukrainian boxer is afraid of him. He stated that as long as Usyk does not have to fight against Wilder “it’s all good”. Wilder believes that Usyk is “terrified” of him. The American boxer stated that Usyk has “Dodged” him “so many times.” Furthermore, he stated, “And don’t act like I don’t know, I don’t want anyone to come out like, ‘Usyk said this and that.’ It would be a lie because I know a lot of s***. I’m in the business, I know.” He claimed that Usyk has denied facing him even after being “offered a lot of money”.

Read More: “It’s True”: Boxing Manager Reveals Why Daniel Dubois Should Be “Cleaning Frank Warren’s House”

What do you think about Usyk’s upcoming bout against Dubois? What do you think about Wilder’s claims of Usyk being terrified of him? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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