Tony Bellew vs. Oleksandr Usyk Announced for Cruiserweight Titles

Oleksandr Usyk will face Tony Bellew at the Manchester Arena on November 10 for the undisputed cruiserweight world title.

News the fight will go ahead came courtesy of the Matchroom Boxing Twitter account on Friday:

In this encounter, the WBO, WBC, WBA and IBF belts won by Usyk in the World Boxing Super Series will be on the line.

Bellew, a former WBC cruiserweight world champion, will drop down from the heavyweight division for this encounter, having previously faced David Haye in two bouts; the 35-year-old stopped his opponent in both fights.

Even so, Bellew said Uysk represents one of the biggest challenges of his boxing career, per Sky Sports.

"There is no greater test than Usyk, he is one of the most feared men in boxing," said Bellew. "This is nothing new to me, everyone says that I can't do it again. Everybody is saying that I'll get beat-up quickly, but we'll find out won't we. ... On November 10, 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."

Bellew also posted the following message on his Twitter account, seemingly relishing the underdog status:

Boxing writer Tom Craze commended Bellew's decision to drop down to cruiserweight again following his success in the heavyweight ranks:

While the Ukrainian will be away from home in this one, he said he "cannot wait to fight in the United Kingdom," per Sky Sports.

After his success at cruiserweight, Uysk will be the favourite for many, as he's showcased power, precision and speed in his 15 professional fights, winning 11 of them inside the scheduled distance.

His previous outing came in July, when he won a lopsided unanimous decision win against Murat Gassiev, clinching the World Boxing Super Series in the process. In doing so, he became the first ever four-belt undisputed cruiserweight champion.

Mookie Alexander praised Usyk for putting all of his belts on the line again so quickly:

Although Bellew has been the underdog for fights against Haye, Ilunga Makabu and Nathan Cleverly in the past, Usyk is arguably the biggest mountain he has had to climb in his career.

Usyk deserves credit for putting everything on the line away from home against a dangerous and experienced opponent. However, based on the rapid rise he has enjoyed in the sport in recent years, it's not a shock that his confidence is high.