The purse bid to stage Oleksandr Usyk’s first mandatory heavyweight title defence against Daniel Dubois has been won by the Ukrainian’s team.
Usyk is set to put his unified heavyweight belts on the line against the WBA’s mandatory challenger, Dubois. The purse bids were ordered on May 15 after an unsuccessful period of negotiation.
Following the formal process in Houston, Texas, Alex Krassyuk of K2 Promotions announced that he won the bid on behalf of his fighter.
@usykaa vs @DynamiteDubois We won the bid. Looking to stage the fight in Wroclaw, Poland on August 12th
— alex.krassyuk (@AKrassyuk) May 25, 2023
Krassyuk’s lucky number was $8,057,000, dwarfing Frank Warren and Queensberry’s $5,620,050 as the only other bid.
Purse splits are pre-set by the sanctioning body, and in this case will be 75% to champion, Usyk, and the remainder to challenger, Dubois.
The fight will be Usyk’s second defence of his titles, the first being his immediate rematch with Anthony Joshua. Dubois will be only the fourth man he’s faced in the top division.
The 25-year-old Londoner has found himself in this position following a win over Trevor Bryan for the WBA’s Regular title. He defended that title in a shaky performance against former-cruiserweight, Kevin Lerena back in December.
Dubois was down three times in the first round, but managed to save himself from a second blemish on his record with a knockout in the third.
He will go into the fight under new trainer, Don Charles, after an unexpected split from Shane McGuigan. Despite being the younger man and bigger puncher, Usyk is undoubtedly the toughest test of his career – one many in the sport feel is a step too far at this stage.
Should the Ukrainian keep a hold of his belts, he’s expected to immediately resume discussions to face Tyson Fury and crown an undisputed champion on the heavyweight scene for the first time in two decades.