By Eric Baldwin: Unbeaten WBO cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Glowacki (26-0, 16 KOs) and #1 WBO mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk (9-0, 9 KOs) have reached an agreement for a fight on September 10 or 17 in Poland, according to Fight News. Glowacki and Usyk’s agreement in the negotiations means there won’t be a purse bid.
It should be a great fight. Glowacki, 29, has defended his WBO title once in beating fringe contender Steve Cunningham last April by a 12 round decision. The southpaw Glowacki captured the WBO cruiserweight title last year in August in stopping Marco Huck in the 11th round after knocking him down twice in the round. Glowacki was knocked down himself in the 6th round by a hard right hand from Huck.
Usyk, 29, captured a gold medal for Ukraine in the 2012 Olympics. Since turning pro in 2013, Usyk has stopped all nine of his opponents in easy victories. The biggest name on Usyk’s resume is contender Johnny Muller, who he stopped in the third round last year in August. In Usyk’s last fight, he stopped an over-matched Pedro Rodriguez in the 7th round last December.
Usyk figures to make it very hard for Glowacki to hold onto his WBO title. One of the things that Glowacki has had going for him as a pro is his southpaw stance.
Most fighters don’t face southpaws at all, period. But what makes Glowacki so tough is he’s got a lot of power to go along with his southpaw stance. That makes it very tough on his opponents to handle his stance. However, the 6’3” Usyk is also a southpaw, and he’s got a three inch height and reach advantage over the 6’0” Glowacki.
Usyk also has punching power that rivals Glowacki’s own power. But what makes Usyk even tougher is he’s got great boxing skills and an excellent jab. He’s not someone that Glowacki is going to be able to hit at will like the guys he’s been facing. Glowacki knocked Cunningham down four times in their fight. I don’t know that Glowacki is going to be able to do that against Usyk because his defense is so solid.
If anyone is going to get knocked down in this fight, I think it might wind up being Glowacki if he’s not careful. Even if he is careful, he might still wind up on the canvas because of Usyk’s punching power. Usyk is a lot like Gennady Golovkin with the way he disguises his power. Usyk likes to hit his opponents with moderate power for a certain amount of time, and then he’ll load up on one of his shots with huge power. This catches his opponents by surprise because they’re not ready for the kind of power that Usyk suddenly brings.
The winner of the Glowacki-Usyk fight will ikely be seen as the best fighter in the cruiserweight division.
This could be the last defense for Glowacki. As good as he is, Glowacki may have met his match. The good news for him though is he can always go after one of the arguably weaker champions like WBC belt holder Tony Bellew. Glowacki would likely be a huge favorite if he fought Bellew.
Deontay Wilder to face Chris Arreola on July 16
A fight between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) and Chris Arreola (36-4-1, 31 KOs) is in the works for July 16 on Premier Boxing Champions on Fox at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. This is the voluntary defense the World Boxing Council recently gave to Wilder after his previously scheduled opponent for May 21, Alexander Povetkin, tested positive for a banned drug during one of VADA’s tests last April.
Wilder’s promoters didn’t have much time to find an opponent due to the WBC saying that they needed to find an opponent soon. Arreola was the best that Team Wilder could find given the time constraints. The WBC is supposed to make a ruling on Povetkin’s situation soon to determine whether Wilder still have to face him or not.
Arreola, 35, is a decent option for Wilder because he’s known to hardcore boxing fans, and even to a certain amount of casual fans. Wilder-Arreola has a good chance of bringing in excellent ratings on Fox.
Wilder needs an impressive win so that he can keep winning over new fans with his performances.