Oleksandr Usyk's long-awaited heavyweight debut is set to take place this fall in Chicago.
Matchroom Boxing announced that Usyk will fight on an upcoming DAZN card at the Wintrust Arena on October 12. No opponent was named though for a while, it had been rumored that he would face Carlos Takam, but that no longer appears to be a certainty after Takam signed a promotional deal with Star Boxing Promotions.
He's coming... --
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) August 15, 2019
CONFIRMED: @usykaa makes his highly-anticipated Heavyweight debut at the @WintrustArena Chicago, October 12! ---- @DAZN_USA pic.twitter.com/yhf6jCJDme
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.
