UNDISPUTED WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT champion Oleksandr Usyk will defend his crown against Tony Bellew in November.
The Ukrainian, who won the inaugural World Boxing Super Series in July, will defend his WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine titles against the Briton at Manchester Arena on 10 November.
The fight will be behind a paywall on Sky Sports Box Office in Ireland and the UK, and will also be shown live on DAZN in the States.
Usyk-Bellew will be the first ever undisputed title bout to take place on UK soil.
SIGNED SEALED DELIVERED!!! @TonyBellew will challenge @usykaa for all the belts in Britain’s first ever 4 belt undisputed fight! Nov 10 @ManchesterArena live on @SkySports Box Office in the UK and @DAZN_USA in America!!!! 🇺🇦🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/6ECw3bYaFV
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) September 14, 2018
Bellew, who previously held the WBC cruiserweight strap, is coming off consecutive stoppage wins over David Haye.
The 35-year-old ‘Bomber’ fancies his chances of shocking the boxing world when he squares off with the pound-for-pound star this winter.
“This is the ultimate test for me,” said Bellew. “There is no greater test than Oleksandr Usyk. He is one of the most feared men in boxing. This is nothing new to me — everyone says that I can’t do it again. Everyone is saying that I’ll get beat-up quickly, but we’ll find out, won’t we?
Make no mistake, I know this is the most dangerous fight of my life but I’m also going into this with my eyes wide open. I’m not in awe of Usyk. I won’t stand and admire him and allow him to rattle off five-punch combinations on my head.
“He’s meeting someone now who’s just as quick as him, someone that’s competed at a division lighter than him and someone that’s come across fighters much more powerful than him.
I’m going into this fight with absolutely nothing to lose because the whole world thinks I’m going to get smashed. I have everything to gain and nothing to lose. On 10 November I’m going to do something that nobody has ever done before: I’m going to knock out an undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world.
Added that very champion, Usyk:
“I’ve been preparing for this fight for a long time and I’m delighted that we’ve got the venue and the date finalised – I cannot wait to fight in the UK.
I am deep into my training camp with my team, working hard and preparing for a long fight with Tony.
He says he will beat me and I love his attitude, but you cannot beat up somebody who is invisible in the ring! As always, I will be victorious on 10 November.
Tickets for #UsykBellew will go on general sale on Monday 24th September. More info coming shortly. Going to be an epic night! 🇺🇦🇬🇧👑👑👑👑👑
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) September 14, 2018
“This one of the biggest and best fights in boxing with Tony Bellew daring to be great against one of the top pound-for-pounders in the sport in Oleksandr Usyk,” said promoter Eddie Hearn.
“Tony has won British, Commonwealth, European and world titles and after the two big wins against David Haye we felt it might be time to walk away, but with him constantly improving and the lure of becoming undisputed king, the temptation was too much.
“For Oleksandr, the plan is to finish his chapter at cruiserweight on 10 November and then move up to heavyweight where he will chase a fight with unified world champion Anthony Joshua.”
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