How long Oleksandr Usyk or Daniel Dubois are really allowed to call themselves the 'undisputed world champion'
The amount of time that either Oleksandr Usyk or Daniel Dubois can call themselves undisputed heavyweight champion has been revealed ahead of their bout.
On Saturday night, unified heavyweight champion Usyk will face International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Dubois in a highly-anticipated bout in Wembley Stadium, London.
The winner of the fight will automatically become the owner of all four of the heavyweight championship belts, therefore claiming the title of undisputed champion.
Back in May last year, Usyk became just the first undisputed champion in the four-belt era after he defeated Tyson Fury via split decision, before beating him again in December, this time with a unanimous decision.
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Shortly after the first fight with Fury, Usyk was forced to vacate the IBF belt, leading to Dubois becoming champion, leaving fans asking how long either Usyk or Dubois will be able to call themselves the undisputed champion.
Despite rumours of a fight with Fury being next for the winner of Saturday's bout, doing so would almost certainly put the champion's status as undisputed at risk.
In March, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) ordered Usyk to face interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker following his second-round knockout win against Martin Bakole.
This means that the winner of the Usyk vs Dubois fight would need to fight Parker, who held two of the heavyweight titles before losing to Anthony Joshua in 2018, next or they would be forced to vacate the WBO belt.
And with Parker's manager David Higgins suggesting that he expects his fighter to be competing for the belt by the end of the year at the latest, the mandatory defence could come too soon for Usyk or Dubois.
If this were the case, the champion would be forced to vacate their WBO belt and the status of undisputed champion.
As it stands, Usyk is the heavy favourite to win the fight against Dubois, having already beaten the Brit during their first meeting in August 2023.
If he were to do so, he would join boxing legend Muhammad Ali as the only other heavyweight become undisputed champion twice.
How to watch the fight on DAZN
The big fight will be live streamed exclusively on DAZN, where PPV costs £24.99. Here's how to watch DAZN on the telly to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the action:
- Smart TV app: Download the DAZN app from your TV’s app store, then sign in to start watching.
- Streaming devices: You can use Apple TV, Roku, Google Chromecast or Amazon Fire Stick to stream the fight. Simply install the DAZN app, log in, and start streaming.
- Gaming consoles: You can access the DAZN app on an Xbox or Playstation too. All you need to do is log into your account and start watching.
- Casting: You can also use Chromecast or Apple AirPlay to cast DAZN from your smartphone or tablet to your TV.
Topics: Boxing, Oleksandr Usyk, Heavyweight Boxing
Ben McCrum