WBA Orders Purse Bid For Oleksandr Usyk vs. Denis Lebedev

The WBA has announced one more purse bid date for the cruiserweight title fight between “Super” titleholder Oleksandr Usyk and Denis Lebedev.

The purse bid is currently scheduled for March 28 at the WBA offices in Panama. The minimum bid will be $400,000 with Usyk set to get 75 percent of the winning bid and Lebedev receiving the remaining 25 percent.

Whether or not the purse bid will actually happen or if someone representing Usyk will even attend the purse bid. For months, it had been heavily hinted that Usyk would vacate all of his cruiserweight titles in order to make his transition to the heavyweight division complete.

Usyk remains the undisputed cruiserweight champion because he intends to keep his titles until the very last possible moment before making sure that his heavyweight debut is set. Usyk’s heavyweight debut is planned for May in Chicago, but it has not been officially announced and Matchroom Boxing, Usyk’s promoter, is still looking for an opponent. There is still a possibility that his heavyweight debut could be delayed in favor of having the fight against Lebedev next.

The 32-year-old Usyk is the first undisputed cruiserweight champion in history to hold the WBA, WBO, WBC, IBF and Ring Magazine titles at the same time. Usyk won the WBA title in July 2018 when he defeated Murat Gassiev to not only become the undisputed cruiserweight champion but also be the first winner of the World Boxing Super Series, having defeated Mairis Briedis and Marco Huck in the previous rounds as well. Usyk last fought in November when he knocked out Tony Bellew in the eighth round on a boxing card in Manchester, England.