Oleksandr Usyk reveals exactly who his next opponent will be

Oleksandr Usyk is in talks to unite the heavyweight titles

Unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has revealed plans to unite his belts against the IBF world champion Daniel Dubois.

The Ukrainian is in possession of the WBC, WBA, WBO, IBO, and Ring Magazine belts, but requires Dubois' IBF strap to become undisputed for a third time.

The former cruiserweight and heavyweight undisputed champion announced, "The WBO told us I should defend this title but now our aim, the goal of our team, is to unite our belts with Daniel Dubois."

Usyk and Dubois are the only two reigning heavyweight world champions at present and are in talks to stage a stadium showdown in London this summer.

It's a setback for Joseph Parker, who had been ordered as the WBO mandatory challenger this month. The former world champion has been chasing the fight with Usyk, even releasing one of his traditional music videos this week as part of his humorous process for calling out opponents.

It's also been received as disappointing news for some fight fans, who would prefer to see in-form Parker get his shot after Dubois withdrew from their February fight through illness.

33-year-old Parker knocked out stand-in opponent Martin Bakole instead to make it six wins on the spin, which includes scalps over Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder.

Another reason fans are dismayed is because unbeaten Usyk has already defeated Dubois, back in August 2023 in Poland. The two-weight undisputed champion stopped the Londoner in the ninth round.

There was controversy after Usyk went down from a body shot, which Dubois and his promoter Frank Warren raged about afterwards, vehemently voicing that it was caused by a legitimate punch. However, the footage was later investigated by the WBA and their appeal rejected.

In reality, Dubois was outclassed and unable to cope with the pace and style of the incredible Ukrainian. A barrage of shots in the eighth round forced Dubois to take a knee, then in the next round, Usyk stepped into a powerful southpaw jab to drop his man again to win the fight.

Since then, Dubois has become the blue-ribbon division's most improved fighter by stringing together a trio of impressive knockout wins over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua.

An eighth-round TKO triumph over Croatian Hrgovic saw him crowned IBF Interim champion, which was soon upgraded to the full IBF belt after Usyk vacated the title for him and Joshua to contest.

Dubois won that Wembley Stadium showdown last September in emphatic fashion by knocking AJ out in the fifth-round to earn the IBF title officially.

So, a rematch between Usyk and Dubois could potentially be closer, but Usyk has now defeated AJ and Fury twice each, as well as Derek Chisora and Tony Bellew, and seems to specialise in beating British boxers.