After a summer recess (fighters excluded; in training for their next outing) our website returns with a brief heavyweight division update.
Top of the agenda after the almost relentless ‘ducking and diving’ and financial shenanigans over what seems like months, is a return to significant action among the big men over the coming weeks.
With the exception of current WBC world and accepted lineal champion Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 23 KO’s), who’s opted for a cross code contest with an MMA fighter and, former WBC holder Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KO’s), all the major players have announced big fights over the coming months.
First up, will be an all British clash on August 12 between former unified champion Anthony Joshua (25-3, 22 KO’s) and former WBC #1 contender Dillian Whyte (29-3, 19 KO’s) in a Londoner’s rematch. Billed as ‘History of Violence’ and promoted by Matchroom it will be held at the 20,000 seater O2 Arena, London and shown live on DAZN pay-per-view. The fight is nearly eight years on from their first meeting at the same venue, won by Joshua by seventh round stoppage, before he later became a multi-organisational ‘world’ champion.
It will pit the 33 year old Joshua against a 36 year old Whyte in a tasty rematch with a lot of backstory. On the undercard will be highly ranked Croatian Filip Hrgovic (15-0, 12 KO’s), for him to hopefully build on his IBF world mandatory contender status.
Next, on August 26, The Ring magazine and unified champion Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KO’s) defends all his belts against WBA champion (of sorts) Daniel Dubois (19-1, 18 KO’s) in Wroclaw, Poland. For what it’s worth the WBO, IBF, full WBA and IBO titles will be up for grabs.
It’s an intriguing match up after the much bigger fight for Usyk against Fury failed to materialise. Derailed by the outbreak of war in his Ukrainian homeland Usyk has had to continue plying his trade on the road, Poland being his nearest destination to home.
Londoner ‘Dynamite’ Dubois is potentially a test; being significantly younger and a genuine heavyweight with concussive power. He was however dropped three times in his recent first defence of his WBA title so has his own vulnerabilites. He is though also a hungry fighter and it promises to be an interesting contest and let’s just be thankful a fight has been made and we see Usyk return to the ring. Write Dubois off though at your peril, this is after all the heavyweights !
Finally, but with equal interest, Chinese behemoth Zhilei Zhang (25-1-1, 21 KO’s) attempts to repeat his unexpected stoppage victory earlier in the year against Joe Joyce (15-1, 14 KO’s) with the rematch held at the Wembley Arena, London on September 23.
All the pressure will be on Joyce who needs to be victorious to leapfrog Zhang in the world rankings and reinstate his WBO mandatory status. The event will be promoted by Queensberry and broadcast live on TNT Sports (formerly BT Sports).
It promises to be an interesting six weeks and will be fascinating who emerges from the dust to ultimately call themselves the ‘real’ world heavyweight champion, as Fury seems to make that claim whilst remaining in a period of dormancy in backing it up, in ironically, the Queensberry rules professional code.
Despite some cynicism enjoy the coming confrontations which promise much.
The Undisputed 