Oleksandr Usyk’s greatness knows no bounds.
The Ukrainian knocked out Daniel Dubois in the fifth round of their rematch on Saturday in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London to become a two-time undisputed heavyweight world champion.
Advertisement
The first fight between Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) and Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) in 2023 was marred by controversy. A punch landed by Dubois in the fifth round of the first meeting was contentiously ruled a low blow, despite a significant portion of the boxing community believing the shot was a legitimate strike. Usyk was allowed a four-minute break to recover and went on to knock Dubois out in the ninth round.
This time, however, there were no low blows and no controversy — just a masterclass from Usyk, Uncrowned’s pound-for-pound No. 1 boxer in the world.
Just after the one-minute mark in Round 5, Dubois backed Usyk up onto the ring ropes and connected with a right hand. The Brit attempted to follow up his success but was met with a brilliantly timed two-punch counter from Usyk that sent him tumbling to the canvas.
Advertisement
As soon as the action resumed, Usyk met Dubois with a cuffing right hook. Dubois then attempted to swing wildly with his right hand, which Usyk countered over the top with a brutal left hand that sent Dubois down again onto the canvas. Referee Mike Griffin counted Dubois out, awarding Usyk the knockout win.
Usyk dominated the first two frames of the contest with his southpaw jab. He had a speed advantage over Dubois and repeatedly caught the Brit as he was attempting to close the gap. The Ukrainian landed with a pair of straight lefts at the end of the opening round and rocked Dubois with a backhand at the close of the second stanza.
Dubois had a better start to Round 3, scoring multiple times with his right hand on Usyk’s chin in the first minute of the round. Usyk, however, evened out the round with a strong final minute, landing power shots at close range. Usyk also controlled the fourth round, with Dubois struggling to land anything meaningful. Dubois appeared to have slowed down and wasn’t committing to any of his attacks, allowing Usyk to pick him off on the outside.
Advertisement
Post-fight, Usyk has named Tyson Fury, Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker as potential opponents for his next fight. Fury’s name was met by a huge cheer at Wembley Stadium.
Queensberry’s Frank Warren, who promotes Dubois and Parker, subsequently said the WBO will order Usyk to defend his undisputed heavyweight title against WBO interim champion Parker next. The WBO stepped aside to allow Saturday’s undisputed title rematch to take place.
Check out complete Usyk vs. Dubois 2 results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned’s play-by-play of the main card.
Main Card
Undisputed heavyweight championship: Oleksandr Usyk def. Daniel Dubois via fifth-round KO | Watch video
Advertisement
Heavyweight: Lawrence Okolie def. Kevin Lerena via unanimous decision (99-91, 100-90, 100-90)
Light heavyweight: Daniel Lapin def. Lewis Edmondson via majority decision (95-95, 96-94, 96-94)
Heavyweight: Solomon Dacres def. Vladyslav Sirenko via unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92, 99-92)
Prelims
Super lightweight: Aadam Hamed def. Ezequiel Gregores via points (40-36)
Super lightweight: Lasha Guruli def. James Francis via fifth-round TKO (corner retirement)