Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, has confirmed that Daniel Dubois is next in line should talks with Tyson Fury not bear fruit.
Usyk – who holds the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight belts – has been in talks to face the WBC Champion, Fury, since December last year.
However, a looming fight date of April 29 and increasingly negative updates from behind the scenes have thrown the legacy-defining contest into jeopardy. Indeed, Krassyuk confirmed that it “doesn’t look likely.”
Sanctioning bodies now come into play, and the Ukrainian has three mandatories to face in a specific rotation. First up is the WBA and their regular champion, Daniel Dubois.
The young British fighter won the belt – and, more importantly, the position – from Trevor Bryan in June 2022 and defended it successfully against Kevin Lerena in December.
Asked by iD Boxing News if that was indeed the route, Krassyuk confirmed, and talked up the fight that will undoubtedly be seen as a disappointment to fans hoping that there would be an undisputed champion on the other side of the Ukrainian’s next scrap.
“This is actually what’s next for Usyk. So what can I say? We have to comply with it. It’s probably not the worst fight for the UK. Dubois is English.
Usyk fought a couple times here, so he’s probably a bit known. This is a fight where an Englishman is fighting for three belts at heavyweight. It’s a bit more than just a normal heavyweight fight.
“Because Usyk and Tyson and all this stuff occurred, that’s why it doesn’t look that big because we have something to compare with. On the other hand, it’s still huge.”
In terms of a timeframe, Krassyuk understandably wants official confirmation that the undisputed bout cannot be made before really pursuing the Dubois mandatory – although it must be noted that even discussing it is a sign of how the talks with Fury are going.
“It’s something to be disclosed within the next couple of days. We are still expecting the official decision on Fury. Once we move on from Fury officially, fight is off, then we start working on the mandatory … We have not collected the information yet.”
Word on the outcome of the three-month long negotiation between the two champions is expected in the coming days, and Krassyuk may find himself straight back into talks with Frank Warren’s Queensberry to set up the Dubois bout.