Usyk-Dubois: Alex Krassyuk ($8,057,000) Outbids Queensberry To Secure Rights, August 12 in Poland Eyed
BY
JAKE DONOVAN
Published Thu May 25, 2023, 01:07 PM EDT
Oleksandr Usyk is in control of his own destiny.
Alex Krassyuk, Usyk’s career-long promoter, gained control of the Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Dubois heavyweight title consolidation fight. Krassyuk posted a massive bid of $8,057,000, far outpacing the generous $5,620,050 submitted by Queensberry Promotions—Dubois’ promoter—as the lone other bidder.
Usyk (20-0, 13KOs) is due $6,042,750, 75-percent of the winning bid as the WBA ‘Super’ titleholder. Dubois (19-1, 18KOs) and his team are entitled to a career-high $2,014,250 payday per the standard 25-percent as the secondary titlist fighting for a superior belt.
A proposed date and location of August 12 in Wroclaw, Poland for Usyk-Dubois accompanied the winning bid. Usyk will attempt the second defense of his unified WBA ‘Super’, IBF and WBO heavyweight title reign; Dubois enters his first major title fight.
The ordered title consolidation bout came in the wake of collapsed talks between Usyk and lineal/WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24KOs) for the first undisputed heavyweight championship clash of the 21st century. The two sides teased for months the possibility of a springtime collision, but it never came to fruition.
It was the WBA who stepped in to order a hard deadline for negotiations to conclude, given its overdue title consolidation fight. Fury and Usyk had until March10 to reach terms.
As Boxing Scene previously reported, both parties confirmed to the WBA that terms were agreed to for their proposed championship clash. The WBA then placed an April 1 deadline to receive signed contracts, though the fight fell apart well before that point.
Dubois entered the equation following a sixth-round knockout of unbeaten Trevor Bryan to claim the WBA ‘Regular’ heavyweight title last June 11 in Miami.
Ukraine’s Usyk has mandatory challengers for all three titles waiting in queue for their respective shot at the unbeaten two-division champ. The sanctioning bodies agreed that the WBA is next in rotation, which left Dubois next up as the WBA ‘Regular’ heavyweight titlist.
Dubois was ordered as the mandatory challenger only after the WBA received medical records confirming his availability to return to the ring. The secondary titlist reportedly suffered a torn ACL in his off-the-canvas, third round stoppage of Kevin Lerena in his first—and will be the only—defense of the title last December 3 in North London.
Ongoing negotiations between Krassyuk and Queensberry failed to produce a reached agreement the May 2 deadline. Initial talks suggested a deal would be reached, to where Queensberry sought an extension. The exact opposite vibe was felt by Krassyuk, who pushed the WBA to order an immediate purse bid even prior to the deadline as he’d felt there was no room left to negotiate.
Usyk became a two-division titlist following his September 2021 win over Anthony Joshua in North London. The Ukrainian southpaw—who won an Olympic Gold medal in 2012 London—previously served as the undisputed cruiserweight champion before he moved up to heavyweights.
Four wins have followed including back-to-back victories over Joshua. The repeat feat came last August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A nip-and-tuck affair through nine rounds saw Usyk puil away in the final nine minutes to successfully lodge his first title defense.
The winner of the fight will be the sole recognized WBA heavyweight titlist, thus eliminating the ‘Regular’ belt from existence in accordance with the sanctioning body’s ongoing title reduction campaign.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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...why?!!!! fukking barthelemy..you telling me a better opponent couldnt have been found?
