Oleksandr Usyk will put his unified heavyweight world titles on the line against Daniel Dubois this week in Wroclaw, Poland.
The undefeated Ukrainian won the WBA, WBO and IBF belts from Anthony Joshua, and had a successful defence in a rematch. Dubois, 25, is his first mandatory challenger.
Having won the purse bid, Usyk’s promoters K2 booked the 42,771 capacity Tarczynski Arena. It’s as close to a homecoming fight as the champion can get given the ongoing Russian invasion in his home country.
There are plenty of his compatriots currently living in Poland, and the event is set to be a celebration of Ukraine, its people and its champion. The date was set as close to the country’s Independence Day (August 24) as possible.
Speaking to Boxing King Media at the public workout, Alex Krassyuk of K2 said that about 80% of the tickets had been sold.
“We have 80% of tickets sold already. We have four days to go. I wish we had a packed, full arena, but we’re approaching to it.”
If operating at full capacity, that makes the audience around 35,000 strong for Usyk, who has been a known road warrior for some years now.
It also means that fans in the area – or Brits looking to travel to support ‘Dynamite’ Dubois – can still snap up their seats. Some tickets are currently available for under £20.
The fight night being close to a sell-out adds another layer of difficulty for Dubois, who will step through the ropes as a 6/1 underdog.
He’s confident that he can be the first man to hurt the elite Usyk and shock the world by taking the heavyweight titles back to England. Fans watching from home can purchase the TNT Sports pay-per-view for £19.95.