Oleksandr Usyk's opponent has been revealed for his upcoming heavyweight debut in Chicago.
Matchroom Boxing revealed that Usyk will face unbeaten rising contender Tyrone Spong on October 12 at the Wintrust Arena in the main event of a DAZN card.
Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, moved up in weight earlier this year and was originally going to fight Takam in May, but Usyk suffered a bicep injury weeks before the bout took place. Since then, Usyk officially petitioned the WBO to name him the mandatory challenger to the heavyweight title currently being held by Andy Ruiz Jr. as part of Usyk's right as the WBO Super Champion at cruiserweight.
A former Olympic gold medalist, Usyk won the WBO cruiserweight title in his 10th pro bout by beating Krzysztof Glowacki in 2016. After two more title defenses, Usyk entered the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament, where he would defeat Marco Huck, Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev to not only win the tournament but unify all four major world titles. Usyk's last fight took place last November when he stopped former champion Tony Bellew in the eighth round of a Matchroom Boxing card in Manchester.
Before becoming a professional boxer, Spong spent years competing as a kickboxer and even had a pair of MMA fights with the World Series of Fighting. Competing in the boxing ring, Spong has won all 14 of his pro bouts, capturing the WBC Latino and WBO Latino heavyweight titles. Spong last fought on August 31 in Mexico, stopping Jeyson Minda in the second round.
