Wembley lined up for Usyk-Dubois undisputed heavyweight title fight
London’s National football stadium Wembley is being lined up to host Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed heavyweight fight with Daniel Dubois.
The arch-topped arena has hosted eight headline bouts before and could stage one of Ukrainian Usyk’s final fights in July this year.
Dubois has taken on Anthony Joshua previously at the 90,000-seater stadium in north London, but Usyk is yet to headline. No contracts have been signed.
The two heavyweights hold all four of the major world titles between them. Brit Dubois holds the IBF championship after a plan to defend it against Joseph Parker in February was thwarted by illness.
Usyk, on the other hand, holds the WBA(Super), WBO and WBC belts having previously been just the third male after Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue to become an undisputed champion in two weights within the four-belt era.
The two have previously met in August 2023 with Usyk coming out on top for his 21st of 23 unbeaten fights, and Dubois was part of the last headline boxing event at Wembley Stadium.
He beat Anthony Joshua by knockout in the fifth round in front of 96,000 fans.
Usyk vs Fury: round three?
It comes as top promoter Bob Arum said Tyson Fury will “never fight again”.
The Gypsy King retired for the fourth time in January but the Top Rank chief executive believes there’s no fourth U-turn this time.
“If I was a betting man I would say he will never fight again,” he told the BBC. “Marvin Hagler [former US boxer] had an expression – ‘a rich guy who goes to bed wearing silk pyjamas doesn’t get up in the morning to do road work’.
“Tyson, really, I don’t think wants to get up in the morning and do road work and go through the experience of having to train when economically he doesn’t have to do it any more.”
Wembley’s hosting of major boxing events began in 1963 when it staged Cassius Clay versus Henry Cooper.
From there Tim Witherspoon and Oliver McCall each took on Frank Bruno in 1986 and 1995 respectively before the arena went nearly 20 years without a bout.
Fighting returned in 2014 with Carl Froch’s second bout against George Groves before Joshua took to the ring three times against Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, Alexander Povetkin in 2018 and Dubois in 2024.
Fury faced Dillian Whyte in 2022.