38-year-old Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk will rematch British opponent Daniel Dubois in a four-title unification match for the WBA (Super), WBC, WBO, IBF heavyweight titles at Wembley Stadium on July 19.
Usyk is currently the number one heavyweight boxer. In May 2024, the 38-year-old boxer defeated Tyson Fury on judges’ points to become the first absolute heavyweight champion in the four-belt era – WBA, IBF, WBC and WBO.
Usyk was later stripped of the IBF belt, so he only defended the WBA, WBC, WBO belts against Fury. In the rematch in Saudi Arabia at the end of 2024, the Ukrainian boxer continued to win judges’ points to defend three titles.
After Usyk was stripped of the IBF belt, Dubois was promoted from the interim belt to the official championship belt. The 27-year-old defended his title with a four-knockout victory over compatriot Anthony Joshua in the fifth round at Wembley in September 2024. Dubois was due to defend his belt against Joseph Parker in February, but withdrew due to health reasons.
“I am grateful to God for the opportunity to fight for the title again,” Usyk said. “Thank you Dubois for keeping my IBF belt, now I want to get it back.”
Usyk was required to defend his WBO belt against Joseph Parker, while Derek Chisora was named as Dubois’ mandatory challenger. However, the heavyweight unification bout took precedence over the mandatory defence.
Dubois has won 22 of his 24 professional fights, with 21 knockouts, a 95% win rate. One of the two defeats came against Usyk himself, when Dubois was knocked out in the ninth round of his challenge for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO heavyweight titles in August 2023.
Dubois is less well-known, but 11 years younger than Uysk. “This is the fight I wanted and now I have the chance to get revenge,” the Briton declared. “This time, in front of the fans at the National Stadium, I will not make any mistakes. I have become a stronger, more dangerous fighter, and Usyk will see that on July 19.”
Usyk and Dubois will attend an official press conference on April 29, with tickets for the four-heavyweight unification at Wembley going on sale the following day.
