Usyk vs Dubois targeted for August 26 in Wroclaw

The battle for the unified heavyweight championship between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois will now happen two weeks after the initial scheduled time.

There is a legitimate explanation for the brief delay. The fight will now take place on August 26 at Stadion Wroclaw (Tarczynski Arena Wroclaw) in Wroclaw, Poland, according to Alex Krassyuk, Usyk's longtime promoter and the head of K2 Promotions-Ukraine. The event will now take place on August 24, Ukraine Independence Day, and 24,000 people are anticipated in the densely Ukrainian-populated area.

Wroclaw is home to many Ukrainians,” Krassyuk told TVP Sport. “The fight will take place at the stadium for 24,000 people. We had to change the date from August 12 to August 26. Because it is Ukraine's Independence Day. It's the perfect date to set up a fight with Dubois. We couldn't waste it.”

The WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight belts that Usyk (20-0, 13KOs) won after defeating Anthony Joshua in September 2021 will be up for second defence in North London. Usyk, a 2012 Olympic gold winner for Ukraine and the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, prevailed again in their rematch on August 20 but had to settle for a bizarrely scored split decision to keep the championships.

Following the breakdown of negotiations for an outright championship fight against lineal/WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24KOs), he decided to defend his title against Dubois (19-1, 18KOs). Months of teasing about a possible springtime collision between the two sides never materialised.