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Oleksandr Usyk's next fight quickly revealed as promoter confirms opponent

Oleksandr Usyk's next fight quickly revealed as promoter confirms opponent

Metro5 days ago
Oleksandr Usyk named a string of possible next opponents after knocking out Daniel Dubois on Saturday night, but it appears one man is at the front of the queue.
Usyk (24-0) stopped Dubois (22-3) in the fifth round at Wembley after an entertaining, if quite brief, scrap for the undisputed world heavyweight title.
The Brit started brightly and did manage to impose himself on the unbeaten champion, but Usyk's class and quality shone through.
Dubois looked to be tiring pretty quickly and the Ukrainian ruthlessly put an end to his night in the fifth, dropping him and then stopping him with a brutal left hook.
It was the second time Usyk has beaten Dubois, while he has also beaten Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua twice as well.
The pound-for-pound great also beat Derek Chisora back in 2020, meaning his last opponent who was not a Brit was Chazz Witherspoon in Usyk's heavyweight debut in 2019.
It now appears that he will take on non-British opponent, though, with New Zealand's Joseph Parker at the front of the line as the WBO mandatory challenger.
Promoter Frank Warren confirmed to the BBC after Usyk stopped Parker: 'The WBO I'm sure, well they already have, ordered that as the WBO champion he has to make his mandatory defence against Joe Parker, so it's Joe Parker's time.'
Usyk, who now holds the WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight straps seemed less clear about his immediate future, suggesting he could meet former foes yet again.
'Maybe it's Tyson Fury. Maybe we have three options,' he said. 'Derek Chisora and Anthony Joshua. Maybe Joseph Parker. Listen I cannot now say because I want to [go] back home.'
He added: 'Nothing is next. It's enough, next, I don't know. I want to rest. My family, my wife, my children, I want to rest now. Two or three months, I want to just rest.'
Parker (36-3) has won his last six fights , with impressive victories over Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang and Martin Bakolie putting him in position to challenge the undisputed heavyweight king.
The 33-year-old has been world champion before, winning the WBO strap in 2016 when he beat Andy Ruiz, before losing it to Joshua in Cardiff in March 2018.
He was in attendance to watch Usyk remain at the top of the heavyweight pile but was clear that he wants the next shot at the champ.
'There's always respect between fighters but I do want what he has,' Parker told the BBC.
'He looked incredible tonight. Power aggression, punching with bad intentions. Daniel put up a great fight from the beginning, it was back and forth, but in the end Usyk broke him down systematically and got him out of there. More Trending
'Usyk is a sensational fighter who has beaten everyone put in front of him so I would love the opportunity to see if I could make the different.
'My dream fight is this guy right here. I want to fight for all the belts. Undisputed unified champion of the world is what I want.'
Meanwhile, Fury has confirmed that he will come back from his latest retirement and fight again in 2026.
MORE: Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois 2: Fight time, TV channel, undercard and odds
MORE: The stats that show why Oleksandr Usyk could be untouchable against Daniel Dubois
MORE: Daniel Dubois can eclipse Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua after making vital change
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JONATHAN BROCKLEBANK: Glasgow hosted a glorious Games - but bringing them back now feels like a terrible mistake
JONATHAN BROCKLEBANK: Glasgow hosted a glorious Games - but bringing them back now feels like a terrible mistake

Daily Mail​

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

JONATHAN BROCKLEBANK: Glasgow hosted a glorious Games - but bringing them back now feels like a terrible mistake

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Lennox Lewis says he would've beaten count if he was Daniel Dubois but refuses to slam Brit for party before Usyk loss
Lennox Lewis says he would've beaten count if he was Daniel Dubois but refuses to slam Brit for party before Usyk loss

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time3 hours ago

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Lennox Lewis says he would've beaten count if he was Daniel Dubois but refuses to slam Brit for party before Usyk loss

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LENNOX LEWIS says he would have beaten the count that settled Daniel Dubois' KO loss to Oleksandr Usyk - but refuses to put the boot into his former protege. The fifth-round stoppage the undisputed Ukraine legend inflicted on the 27-year-old has split British boxing. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 8 Lennox Lewis reckons he would have beaten the count that settled Daniel Dubois' KO loss to Oleksandr Usyk Credit: Getty 8 Daniel Dubois was knocked out in the fifth round by Oleksandr Usyk Credit: PA 8 Usyk has become a dominant force in heavyweight boxing Credit: Getty Warhorse Derek Chisora, 41, told our Split Decision YouTube show that Dubois quit, but Tyson Fury passionately defended him - and both men offered to help train and rebuild him. Lewis, 59 - the last heavyweight undisputed ruler dating back to 1999 - has been backing Dubois for a decade, since he turned pro, and has called for calm in the criticism of him. But the man-mountain-mastermind - who manhandled monsters like Vitali Klitschko, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield after recovering from two knockout defeats - says he would not have accepted the same fate Dubois did. He told SunSport: 'I can only say that, if I was in that situation, I would have beaten the count. 'But we don't know what was going on, mentally and physically, with him. 'When you ask 'could he have got up?' We don't know what was going through his mind. 'Usually when you are on a knee and you are looking up like that, you have a decision to get up and go on, or not. 'It's a big decision and you have to make it within the count. And I don't think he made that decision within the count.' 8 Dubois was unable to continue after being knocked to the canvas Credit: EPA 8 CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS There is an ongoing and deserved inquest into how Dubois' dad Stan managed his pre-fight preparation. The IBF's defending champion arrived late, after a long car journey, and then had his entrance held up when his father threatened to pull him from the fight if his bundle of ticketless guests were not allowed in. Derek Chisora says Jake Paul is doing 'great things for boxing' but pleads with him not to fight Anthony Joshua Almost everyone in boxing has hammered the slapstick shambles but Lewis can't throw stones as he would be sound asleep about 30 minutes before the biggest fights of his life. He explained: 'Everybody does their thing a bit differently. 'Usually people look at what the previous champions did before them, and copy that. 'For me, I used to tell my team to throw everybody out of the dressing room and not let anybody bother me. 'Officials and other people would be coming to see me or to get my autograph and they would be told 'no, not until he wakes up'. 'Once I woke up, it was like a new day, I was ready for that day, and I was ready to fight. 'People didn't realise that when I was able to sleep like that, it meant I was as relaxed as I could possibly be. 8 Footage emerged of Daniel Dubois having a party hours before the fight Credit: X 8 People were packed in to Dubois' home Credit: X 'There's no point being in a dressing room ages before the fight, pacing up and down and breathing hard, that's not me. I sleep, I relax and I get in the ring. 'I would wake up just in time to wrap my hands and then my warm-up was fast.' And how does Lewis rate the man who has laid waste to the UK's biggest and best men, from Chisora to Anthony Joshua, to Tyson Fury and now Dubois? 'He's a remarkable, big-time, great boxer,' Lewis purred. 'He does everything right, he's smart and he moves and punches well. 'But he works you out BEFORE the fight. 'All the British guys have had two cracks at him and still can't do it. 'I have watched from the outside and thought 'I know how I would prepare to beat Oleksandr Usyk. 'Oleksandr Usyk is a great mover, so you have to be a great mover as well, you have to be good on your feet. "But these guys can't figure it out.'

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