By Allan Fox: Undefeated WBO cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Glowacki (26-0, 16 KOs) got some bad news on Friday with the World Boxing Organization finally getting around to ordering him to fight unbeaten #1 WBO Oleksandr Usyk (9-0, 9 KOs).
With the way that Usyk has been knocking out his opponents and looking very impressive, it was only a matter of time before the WBO forced Glowacki to defend against the 2012 Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist.
Glowacki, 29, is coming off of a four-knockdown, 12 round unanimous decision win over 39-year-old Steve Cunningham (28-8-1, 13 KOs) on April 16 in Glowacki’s first defense of his WBO cruiserweight title on Premier Boxing Champions at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Despite knocking Cunningham down four times, Glowacki definitely struggled in the rounds where he couldn’t get knockdowns. He won the fight by the scores of 115-109, 115-109 and 116-108. It was not an easy fight for Glowacki. Cunningham made every round competitive with his pressure and body punching, which the southpaw Glowacki clearly didn’t like.
Glowacki and Usyk have 30 days to negotiate the fight. If they can’t come to a deal by the end of 30 days, the fight will go to a purse bid.
Last August, Glowacki stopped long time WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck in the 11th round to win the WBO title. Glowacki was on his way to losing that fight after a good start earlier in the fight, but he caught Huck with a perfect shot in the 11th to get a knockout.
Part of what makes Glowacki so good is his southpaw stance. His opponent has struggled in dealing with Glowacki’s big left hand shots that he likes to throw. However, the 6’3” Usyk is also a southpaw and he’s got a longer reach, a better jab and better power than Glowacki.
Usyk is also a better boxer than Glowacki, and this could prove to be a very tough fight for the Polish fighter if he’s not able to land his left hand with the regularity that he’s shown in his last two fights against orthodox fighters Cunningham and Huck.
If Glowacki is going to win this fight, he’s probably going to need to somehow out-box Usyk, because he’s not going to be able to depend on bombing him with left hands that he’s not able to track like fighters that fight out of the orthodox stance are unable to do.
Usyk was injured in training recently, and that wiped out a fight against Stephen Simmons. That was supposed to be a stay busy fight for Usyk, so there wasn’t anything lost in that fight not taking place.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the 6’0” Glowacki deals with the 6’3” Usyk. Glowacki will be giving away not only three inches in height, but also three inches in reach against Usyk. That’s pretty significant, especially when you factor in that Usyk likes to jab and move around the ring. Glowacki will not be able to win a jabbing war. He also won’t be able to move like Usyk because he’s a stationary fighter who depends on his opponents to stand still so that he can land his left hand shots.