Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois; Jared Anderson in action

FIGHT WEEK

Oleksandr Usyk is scheduled to defend his heavyweight titles towards Daniel Dubois on Saturday in Poland. Additionally that day, heavyweight contender Jared Anderson will face Andriy Rudenko in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

OLEKSANDR USYK (20-0, 13 KOs)VS. DANIEL DUBOIS (19-1, 18 KOs)

Date: Saturday, Aug. 26
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (most important occasion later in present)
The place: Stadion Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Division: Heavyweight (no restrict)
At stake: Usyk’s IBF, WBA and WBO titles
Odds: Usyk 8-1 favourite (common of a number of shops)
Pound-for-pound: Usyk No. 3
Additionally on the cardboard: Denys Berinchyk vs. Anthony Yigit, lightweights; Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Dmytro Mytrofanov, middleweights
Prediction: Usyk UD
Background: Usyk will return to the ring for the primary time since he outpointed Anthony Joshua for a second consecutive time final August. The slick southpaw technician from Ukraine, a former 200-pound champion, defeated Joshua by a unanimous determination to turn into a heavyweight titleholder in September 2021 after which gained a break up determination within the rematch. He was anticipated to struggle fellow beltholder Tyson Fury for the undisputed championship however they failed to succeed in an settlement. That struggle may occur subsequent 12 months if Usyk beats Dubois and Fury will get previous MMA star Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28. Dubois was a extremely touted prospect popping out of the novice ranks. The strapping 25-year-old Londoner gained his first 15 professional fights earlier than he was stopped in 10 rounds by one other rising heavyweight, Joe Joyce, in November 2020. Dubois couldn’t end that struggle partly as a result of he suffered a damaged eye socket. He rebounded to win his subsequent 4 fights, which arrange his first shot at a significant title on Saturday. He received up from three first-round knockdowns to cease southpaw Kevin Lerena within the third spherical of his most-recent outing final December. He’s not as skillful or skilled as Usyk however he’ll have a major pure measurement benefit. Dubois, who’s 6-foot-5, fights at round 240 kilos whereas the 6-3 Usyk weighed 221-plus for each fights towards Joshua.

JARED ANDERSON (15-0, 14 KOs)VS. ANDRIY RUDENKO (35-6, 21 KOs)

Date: Saturday, Aug. 26
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT (most important occasion later in present)
The place: Laborious Rock Resort & On line casino, Tulsa, Oklahoma
TV/Stream: ESPN, ESPN+
Division: Heavyweight (no restrict)
At stake: No main titles
Odds: Anderson 20-1 favourite (common of a number of shops)
Pound-for-pound: None
Additionally on the cardboard: Efe Ajagba vs. Zhan Kossobutskiy
Prediction: Anderson KO 5
Background: Anderson is among the quickest rising heavyweights on this planet. The 23-year-old from Toledo, Ohio, has taken out all however his most-recent opponent, veteran Charles Martin, who survived 10 rounds with Anderson however misplaced a near-shutout determination this previous July. Anderson is ranked by all 4 main sanctioning our bodies, No. 5 by the WBO. That signifies that a possibility to struggle for a significant title is on the horizon if he continues to win. Rudenko most likely isn’t a critical risk to Anderson. The 39-year-old Ukrainian journeyman has demonstrated toughness, going to the space with Alexander Povetkin, Agit Kabayel and Zhilei Zhang. Nevertheless, he misplaced one-sided selections in these and different fights and was stopped for the primary time towards unbeaten countryman Vladyslav Sirenko two fights in the past. He rebounded to cease journeyman Bojan Cestic this previous January.

ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK

WEDNESDAY

Justin Pauldo vs. Eduardo Estela, lightweights, Plant Metropolis, Florida (ProBox TV)

THURSDAY

Jordan Panthen vs. Todd Manuel, junior middleweights, Costa Mesa, California (FITE)

FRIDAY

Lorenzo Simpson vs. Vladimir Hernandez, middleweights, Atlanta (DAZN)
Erick Rosa vs. Orlando Pino, junior flyweights, Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic (Shuan Boxing YouTube)

SATURDAY

Oscar Collazo vs. Garen Diagan, strawweights (for Collazo’s WBO title), San Juan, Puerto Rico (DAZN)
Callum Walsh vs. Juan Jose Velasco, junior middleweights, Commerce, California (UFC Battle Move)