Strong in a week…Chazz Witherspoon Vs Usyk

Chazz Witherspoon is selected as Oleksandr Usyk’s new opponent for his heavyweight debut this Saturday night in Chicago.

Witherspoon, 38, accepted what will be a challenging and difficult fight at less than a week of notice.

Tyrone Spong (14-0, 13 KOs), a former mixed martial arts fighter from Suriname, won`t now fight  Usyk, after an adverse finding reported by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.

Usyk of Ukraine (16-0, 12 KOs), a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, was originally supposed to face Carlos Takam (37-5-1, 28 KOs) on May 25 at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill , Maryland, but a bicep injury prevented Usyk from  fighting.

Witherspoon (38-3, 29 KOs), cousin of former WBC heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon, is from Philadelphia and now a resident of Paulsboro, New Jersey.

Usyk will fight for the first time since knocking out Tony Bellew (30-3-1, 20 KOs) in the eighth round on November 10 in Manchester, England.