In a huge bout, Oleksandr Usyk puts his heavyweight gold on the line against WBA heavyweight title holder Daniel Dubois in Poland. While the Ukrainian champion was aiming for a title fight with Tyson Fury, negotiations stalled and Dubois stepped in as the mandatory challenger to face Usyk. With an unblemished record of 20-0, the 36-year-old holds multiple heavyweight titles and is coming off two stellar wins over Anthony Joshua (one split decision and one unanimous) that had the boxing world captivated. Meanwhile, Dubois is holding his own in the heavyweight division with a cumulative mark of 19-1 and is coming off a TKO title defense over Kevin Lerena.
For this report, SBS will be going over what to look for from each fighter along with a predicted winner, and more notes about boxing wagering.
A fighter with tremendous ring poise, the smooth southpaw has never dropped a bout in his career to date and accrued 13 knockouts so far. In his last three fights, he was able to knock off heavyweight mainstays Joshua, and also Derek Chisora via unanimous decision. In his last contest against Joshua, Usyk outperformed his rival, landing 170 of 712 punches, compared with just 124 of 492 for Joshua. Per one report, Usyk established new records for punches landed by an opponent on Joshua (170) total in a fight.
An extremely talented fighter, just last year Usyk was ranked as the world’s best active, pound-for-pound, by The Ring. With his initial victory over Joshua in 2021, the Ukrainian became one of only three boxers to have unified the cruiserweight world titles and become a world heavyweight champion. This list also includes Evander Holyfield and David Haye. This battle will certainly test the champion’s mettle but he should be up for the challenge as he has had over a year to prepare since fighting Joshua in August of last year.
Dubois enters this fight looking to make history against Usyk and, while an underdog, does have a chance to pull the upset given his sensational knockout ability. With 18 knockout wins in his career, the British boxer is well-known for his powerful strikes and has an astounding knockout ratio (95% knockout-to-win percentage) compared to other heavyweights. In his last bout against Kevin Lerena, Dubois was able to notch the victory via a third-round TKO in London. This was for the 25-year-old to retain his WBA heavyweight title and a fantastic showing heading into this bout against Usyk.
As referenced above, Dubois is only 25 years of age, but “Triple D” is one of the heavyweight division’s rising stars. If he can knock off Usyk, it would set up a collision course fight with Fury for all the heavyweight marbles. As an amateur, Dubois was a five-time national junior titleist and British champion. While he did fall to Joe Joyce in 2020 for his only professional loss, Dubois has rebounded nicely since then. He is susceptible to knockouts, so expect this fight to be a slugfest to a degree.
Prediction: This should be a stellar battle, but Usyk has the stronger resume and, despite the age difference, pick the Ukrainian to keep the good times rolling.
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About the Author
As a devout aficionado of sports, Chris Boline has carved a career within the athletic realm. A skilled scribe, he boasts a decade-long portfolio that encompasses coverage of the NBA G League, the Los Angeles Chargers, football in the Mountain West Conference, and basketball. Beyond his professional pursuits, Chris is deeply invested in his community and dedicates his leisure hours to serving on boards, collaborating with community organizations, and cherishing the company of loved ones.
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