OLEKSANDR USYK will offer Daniel Dubois a crack at world title if a spring showdown with Tyson Fury fails to come to fruition.
The undefeated Ukrainian is hoping to complete the heavyweight title set in a blockbuster undisputed fight in Saudi Arabia early next year.
But WBC king Fury has been none committal on the bout, which has prompted Team Usyk to weigh up a mandatory title defence against WBA regular champ Dubois.
Promoter Alexander Krassyuk told Betfred: “We’re looking at Saudi Arabia most likely.
“We have a timeslot between February 18th and March 4th 2023 in our mind to book this fight.
“It all depends on how it’s going to finish on Saturday, because even if Fury comes through the winner against [Derek] Chisora, he may be injured or have some broken bones that may mean a longer wait for the undisputed fight.
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“If something does go wrong then we’re probably going to look at the mandatories we have and Daniel Dubois is the first in line.”
Although a fight with Dubois is a real possibility, Usyk’s sole focus is on becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.
He said: “This is the only thing Usyk wants.
“He doesn’t want to go through all the mandatories, he wants to go straight to glory and legacy.
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“This is the fight that most of the fans in the world want to see.
“There’s never been a heavyweight that’s had four of the belts at the same time, so this is history in the making.
“You can’t find any reason for not taking this fight.
“If you’re a man, you respect your fans and you respect boxing, then you can have no excuse not to fight Usyk.
“Everybody is on board.
“Queensberry promotions is on board, Usyk’s team is and Usyk is as well.
“Our partners in the Middle East are ready and willing to host this fight.
“The only thing that is still pending is the consent of a tall, bald, gypsy man to get beaten. That’s it.”
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Fury, 34, will be back in action on Saturday night – locking horns with Derek Chisora in a Tottenham trilogy fight.
Usyk, meanwhile, was last in action in August – retaining his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight title with a split decision victory over Anthony Joshua.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
