On July 19, Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois throw down at Wembley Stadium for the right to be called the ‘undisputed’ heavyweight champion of the world.
One fight. One night. All the marbles.
The duo have form of course. In August 2023 Dubois boxed Usyk in Poland and lost via controversial KO in round nine in a fight where the IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles were on the line.
There is an asterisk against that win for Usyk due to the controversial fifth round where Dubois floored him with a body shot that looked on the beltline but was ultimately ruled a low blow. Usyk was given time to recover by referee Luis Pabon before taking over and winning the fight in round nine.
Dubois' team launched a formal appeal afterwards with promoter Frank Warren arguing that the body shot in the fifth was legal, the fight should have ended then and there, and Dubois should have been ruled the unified heavyweight champion of the world.
Here, the experts at Furyjoshua.com have answered some key questions ahead of the rematch, which will be broadcast live on DAZN Pay-Per-View.
Q – Would both fighters see this as a legacy defining fight?
Defeating Tyson Fury by split decision in May 2024 established Usyk - 23-0 (14) - as the first undisputed heavyweight champion of boxing’s four-belt era. His legacy in boxing is beyond secure. He’s an Olympic champion who has reigned as undisputed at cruiserweight and heavyweight. In 2025 we are well into the “nothing left to prove” stage of his career.
Dubois - 22-2 (21) - still has plenty to prove. He has been on a tear since that Usyk loss, beating Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua all by stoppage. The Joshua win was huge and proved that he belongs at the top level. However, to be the man you have to beat the man and there is no denying the main man at heavyweight right now hails from Ukraine.
Q – How big is the fight?
Boxing is not as mainstream as it once was, but being the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world still carries huge cachet. The fact they are fighting at Wembley Stadium underlines the fact that this is not your average heavyweight fight, and with Usyk nearing the end of his career don’t be shocked if he announces his retirement after Saturday, win or lose. The rematch is expected to be a sellout. At time of writing over 83,000 tickets have already been sold.
Q - Have there been any changes in terms of corner personnel for this rematch?
Usyk will have the same tried and tested team behind him on Saturday but in a shock move he announced earlier this year that him and his longtime promoter Alex Krassyuk have parted ways. Krassyuk - who runs K2 Promotions - announced the split via social media, but it all appears to have happened pretty amicably.
Dubois's trainer is Don Charles. He has been with the Londoner since 2021 - taking over from Shane McGuigan – so was in the corner in Poland for their first fight. Charles is a gnarled veteran of the fight scene and is known for his strong opinions. He has been critical of Usyk in the run up to this - suggesting he "conned the boxing world" with his reaction to a low blow in their previous fight – so that is a juicy sub-plot to watch out for as the fight draws closer.
Q – Is Usyk a fighter in decline?
There’s no doubt that Usyk – at the age of 38 – is now a fighter a good few years removed from his physical peak. The man himself is alluding he has two fights left, including this one on Saturday.
He has acquired generational wealth, secured his legacy and surely the main motivation now will be to retire undefeated?
He didn’t look washed in that Fury rematch in December. Far from it in fact. The mesmeric lead hand and dazzling footwork were still very much in evidence, and the way he finished the fight suggests he still has enough in the tank at this level.
Q – Bookies view?
The Camel Coats have Dubois chalked up as a 3/1 underdog, with Usyk a top-price 4/11 at time of writing. That feels about right, though if you are someone with an opinion that Usyk is slipping – even ever so slightly - then Dubois by KO, TKO or Disqualification at 4/1 would make plenty of appeal. Daniel is one of the heaviest hitters in the sport and will be full of confidence after destroying AJ.
Q - Best fight on the undercard?
Speaking honestly, given some of the Riyadh Season undercards we have enjoyed over the last few years this one feels a bit short in terms of quality. The promoters will argue that any card featuring a fight for the undisputed heavyweight world title is PPV-worthy and they would have a point.
Daniel Lapin is on the card. The 11-0 (4) light-heavyweight has been hailed as Ukraine's next boxing superstar, and he gets a stern test against unbeaten British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight champion Lewis Edmondson.
Edmondson is useful. In late 2024 he beat Londoner Dan Azeez to claim the vacant belts and in March defended his Commonwealth title against the previously unbeaten Oluwatosin Kejawa. Lapin is a 6ft 6ins southpaw who has fought on big cards in Saudi, and that looks the most competitive fight on the undercard by some distance.
Elsewhere, former WBO cruiserweight and WBC bridgerweight boss Lawrence Okolie takes the next steps on his heavyweight journey against decent trail horse Kevin Lerena. South Africa’s Lerena almost pulled off a seismic upset against Dubois in 2022 after he knocked the Brit down three times during their fight, before being knocked out himself. Okolie – who can look awkward and ungainly at times - is a rightful favourite going in, but Lerena has a puncher’s chance.
Q – So finally, revenge or repeat - Who wins the big one and how?
This is a classic Bull vs. Matador type contest. Usyk is widely considered the best heavyweight boxer in the world and is the consensus top ‘pound-for-pound’ fighter in the sport for plenty of observers to boot. Dubois is rightly regarded as one of the biggest hitters in boxing’s blue riband division.
His jaw-dropping performance against Joshua has earned him this crack, and he will be full of confidence. Dubois has somehow got to keep trying to get Usyk on the back foot, rough him up, put him under pressure and find gaps. He can’t just sit back and hope for an opening. The Londoner has got to actively pressure his opponent into making a mistake and not just hope that he does.
You’re never going to beat Usyk if you stand off him. Team Dubois will know ‘DDD’ needs to roll the dice and get on top of him. However, it has to be educated pressure against such a brilliant counter-puncher. If Dubois lands clean on anyone, chances are they will go. However, Usyk is a master of timing and distance. Nobody has been able to outbox him as a professional, and he is so hard to pin down.
Usyk is also the pro’s pro. A diligent trainer, he will be aware that the end is coming and will be desperate to end his Hall-of Fame career undefeated. No stone will have been left unturned in terms of his preparation. However, that goes for Dubois too. He was built for this. Don’t forget DDD claims to have broken the world record for the number of consecutive push-ups done by a five-year-old when he was being put through his paces by father Stan.
Dubois must turn this into a fight instead of a boxing match. It is perhaps inevitable that the Londoner will try and target the body, given what happened in the fifth stanza of their first fight. But Team Usyk will be prepared for that.
Usyk is not a puncher of note. He can put his shots together, but he doesn’t have the dimensions to detonate many one-punch kayos. However, he is so good technically and showed twice against Fury and Joshua that he can dominate – and not be manhandled - against elite big men.
It was his cardio that won him the Fury fights, and certainly the second AJ fight. Going into the championship rounds he always manages to find another gear while Dubois has never gone beyond round 10 in a professional fight.
His superior conditioning, and fabulous ring smarts, mean it is impossible for us to pick against Usyk but Dubois could be good enough – and brave enough - to hear the final bell. If Usyk wins again on Saturday, and can stay undefeated before retiring from the sport, he will be in any conversation going forward regarding the true boxing immortals.
Usyk v Dubois 2: Big fight details and TV coverage
- When and where: Wembley Stadium in London, Saturday July 19
- Start time: Undercard approx 1730 BST, Main Event approx 1000 BST
- TV channel and cost: DAZN Pay-Per-View £24.99)
- Radio: TalkSport
- Belts: WBA, WBO, WBC and IBF heavyweight titles
- Records: Usyk 23-0 (14 KOs), Dubois 22-2 (21 KOs),
- Sky Bet odds: Usyk 1/4, Dubois 7/2
Usyk vs Dubois 2: Undercard
- MAIN EVENT: Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois
WBA, WBO, WBC and IBF heavyweight titles - Lawrence Okolie vs Kevin Lerena
WBC silver heavyweight title - Daniel Lapin vs Lewis Edmondson
IBF inter-continental light-heavyweight title - Aadam Hamed vs Ezequiel Gregores
- Vladyslav Sirenko vs Solomon Dacres
