Daniel Dubois has signed to rematch Oleksandar Usyk on July 19 with the Greenwich heavyweight bidding to become undisputed champion.
The South Londoner, 27, holds the IBF belt which the Ukrainian initially relinquished so that he could fulfil a contractual obligation to rematch Tyson Fury.
Usyk, 38, holds the WBA (Super), WBC and WBO titles.
He stopped Dubois in the ninth round when they met in 2023. But since then he has chained together a series of impressive wins – none more so then his emphatic demolition of Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium, which will also host the Usyk encounter.
Usyk also went down in their first meeting but the referee ruled a body shot as low and gave him an extended recovery period from the punch.
Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren claimed at the time it was a legitimate blow and that Usyk was saved in a moment of huge adversity.
“I’m grateful to God for the opportunity to once again fight for the undisputed championship,” said Usyk. “Thank you, Daniel, for taking care of my IBF belt – now I want it back.”
Dubois had been set to make a second defence of his IBF belt in February against Joseph Parker but the champion withdrew citing an unspecified illness.
“This is the fight I wanted and demanded and now I get my chance for revenge against Oleksandr Usyk,” said Dubois.
“I should have won the first fight and was denied by the judgement of the referee, so I will make no mistake this time around in front of my people at the national stadium in my home city.
“I am a superior and more dangerous fighter now and Usyk will find this out for himself on July 19.
“I would like to thank my promoter Frank for making this happen for me and I intend to repay him by becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.”
Warren added: “I am thrilled to deliver this historic undisputed occasion for Daniel at Wembley Stadium.
“It will be an honour to promote a sporting event of this magnitude and a privilege to bring over a champion of the stature of Oleksandr.
“I would like to thank Oleksandr and his team at Ready to Fight for their great cooperation in making this fight become a reality.
“I am certain that we will see the best of British both in and outside of the ring, from Daniel and the unrivalled fight fans who will pack out the biggest sporting venue in the country.”
PICTURE: ALAMY
