Oleksandr Usyk, the 38-year-old Ukrainian, reigns as the undisputed, undefeated heavyweight world champion yet again.
Usyk beat 27-year-old Daniel Dubois by fifth-round TKO in their rematch, improving his record to 24-0 and claiming all four heavyweight belts at Wembley Stadium in London Saturday, July 19.
Almost two years after knocking out Dubois, Usyk defeated the hard-punching heavyweight a second time. Usyk was coming off back-to-back victories over Tyson Fury and is running out of meaningful opponents.
Dubois, who entered the fight as the IBF heavyweight world champion, was coming off a brutal knockout victory over Anthony Joshua. But Usyk proved far more elusive than Joshua as Dubois dropped to 22-3.
After the fight, Usyk dropped to his knees and covered his crying eyes with his boxing gloves. The crowd of 90,000 bathed him with cheers and chants of ‘Usyk, Usyk!’
Usyk clearly is not planning to retire at 38.
“Thirty-eight is a young guy,’’ he told DAZN in a post-fight interview. “Remember, 38, it’s only start!’’
Dubois said he had to commend Usky.
“I gave it everything I had,’’ he said. “Probably a few things I could have sharpened up on. Take no credit away from the man.’
Dubois added, “I’ll be back.’’
USA TODAY Sports provided live updates on the fight and the undercard. Check out the highlights:
Jake Paul eyeing Usyk encounter?
Jake Paul, at Wembley Stadium for the Usyk-Dubois fight, posted on social media a video of him facing off with Usyk after the Ukrainian’s knockout victory over Dubois.
‘Congrats to one of the greatest heavyweights of all time @usykaa on a huge win. I respect you a lot. Now we do an MMA match for the world’
What’s next for Oleksandr Usyk?
Usyk became a three-time undisputed champion – once as a cruiserweight and twice as a heavyweight. He said he wants nothing more, but does want to fight.
He named Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Joseph Parker and Derek Chisora among possible opponents.
Oleksandr Usyk knocks out Daniel Dubois
Usyk knocked down Dubois twice in the fifth round. And after the second knockdown, the referee stopped the right at 1:52 of Round 5.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois: Round by round analysis
Round 1: Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois, fighting for the undisputed heavyweight championship, and here they come. Dubois out quick with the jab and Usyk counters with his own. Dubois lands a right but Usyk not backing away. Instead he fires his jab. Usyk bouncing on his feet behind the jab. Dubois fires two jabs and advances, then fires a right to the body. Dubois moves in and connects to the body. Usyk responds with a jab and lands a big left hook. Dubois 10, Usyk 9.
Round 2: Usyk out quick behind the jab, but Dubois is stalking now. Usyk making it difficult for Dubois to unload his power punches by staying on the move. Dubois lands a hard right. Usyk felt definitely that. Dubois uncorks some hard rights, but off the mark. Usyk lands two hard lefts at the end of the second round. Dubois 19, Usyk 19.
Round 3: Hard right from Dubois at the start of the round. Usyk staggers back after he’s hit by another Dubois right. Another hard right snapped back Usyk’s head and now he looks in control. Usyk fighting back but with far less ferocity. Usyk delivers a hard fight and then follows it with a left. Dubois throws another hard right but into Usyk’s high guard. Dubois’s right hand sizzling. Dubois, 29, Usyk 28
Round 4: Usyk on the move, looking to avoid that big right from Dubois – and unload the left. Which is what he does as if on cue. Dubois looks a little perplexed before landing a right. Usyk responds with his own right. Usyk closes the round strong. Dubois 38, Usyk 38.
Round 5: Dubois opens with a good right. Usyk wisely stays on the move. Cheers go up: “Usyk, Usyk.’’ Usyk rewards the crowd with a right and Dubois is down! A left hook! Dubois makes it back to his feet. A right knocks down Dubois again! It’s over. The ref halts the fight. A fifth-round knockout victory for Usyk!
Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois crowd favorite
Usyk has received pre-fight cheers even through he’s Ukrainian and is fighting Britain’s Daniel Dubois.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois current odds
DraftKings: Usyk -300, Dubois +235
FanDuel: Usyk -430, Dubois +300
Lawrence Okolie def. Kevin Lerena by unanimous decision
Okolie, angling for a shot against the top heavyweights, turned in an unmemorable performance against Lerena in a 12-round bout.
The judges scored it 99-91, 100-90, 100-90 in favor of Okolie, the 32-year-old Brit. But he scored no knockdowns and never staggered Lerena, the 33-year-old from South Africa who was at a considerable size disadvantage.
Okolie improved to 22-1 while Lorena fell to 31-4.
Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua for real?
In an interview with DAZN, Paul said he’s at Wembley Stadium because it’s where he’ll fight British hero Anthony Joshua, the former heavyweight champion.
“It’s not even about if it’s realistic or not,’’ Paul said of the prospective bout. “It’s going to happen. So fasten your seatbelts or whatever. And when I knock him out, I go down in the history books forever.’’
Paul did not provide a date for the matchup between Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) and Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs). But Paul did say, “We’re going to do the unthinkable and create one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing and that’s what this is all about, I’m here.’
Daniel Lapin def. Lewis Edmondson by majority decision
In a battle of unbeatens, Lapin survived Edmondson’s aggressive style in a 10-round light heavyweight bout.
Lapin, a 6-6 Ukrainian, towered over Edmondson, a 6-1 Brit. But the Brit often bulled his way inside and roughed up the Ukrainian.
In the eighth round, Edmondson pushed Lapin against the ropes and both times Lapin looked like he might flip over. But it was hard to determine if it was the result of Edmondson’s force or Lapin’s frustration.
Regardless, Lapin, 28 responded well in the final two rounds and his late display likely propelled him past Edmondson, 29.
The judges scored it 95-95, 96-94, 96-94 in favor of Lapin.
Jake Paul gets chilly reception
Jaul Paul arrived at Wembley Stadium with his fiancée Jutta Leerdam and when he was shown on the video boards, there were boos from the crowd. Paul’s only loss as a pro boxer came against Britain’s Tommy Fury, the brother of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Solomon Dacres def. Vladyslav Sirenko by unanimous decision
Dacres, coming off a demoralizing first-round TKO loss, outclassed previously undefeated Sirenko in a 10-round heavyweight bout.
Throughout the fight, Dacres tattooed Sirenko (22-1). With 19 knockouts in his first 22 fights, Sirenko kept trudging forward — ominously.
Dacres, the 31-year-old Brit, did a masterful job dodging most of Sirenko’s punches. But in the eighth round, Sirenko, the 30-year-old Ukrainian, landed a left that knocked out Dacres mouthpiece.
Dacres (10-1) responded by continuing to fire punches and finish the fight strong.
The judges scored it 99-91, 98-92, 99-92.
Usyk arrives with boxing companion
Usyk exited a vehicle outside Wembley Stadium with a stuffed animal — the Disney donkey Eeyore.
“It’s my daughter’s,’’ Usyk has explained. “She gave it to me to be my talisman. We bought it when we were all together in Disneyland Paris.
“When we left Ukraine together but our roads separated in Europe, my daughter gave this toy to me and said, ‘This needs to be right next to you.’ ‘
Aadam Hamed def. Ezequiel Gregores by decision
Hamed, the son of Hall of Fame boxer Naseem Hamed (a.k.a. Prince Naseem), improved to 6-0 with a convincing victory over Gregores in the four-round welterweight bout.
With his father watching, the 25-year-old Hamed looked solid two years into his pro boxing career. He made good use of both hands and looked good defensively.
Of course, you have to consider the competition. Gregores, a 31-year-old from Argentina, entered the bout with a record of 3-24.
That made it difficult to assess Hamed’s skill level, but it’s fair to say he has much more to prove in the ring to come close to resembling his father, who won multiple world titles as a featherweight.
Lasha Guruli def. James Francis by TKO
Guruli, an Olympic bronze medalist at the 2024 Paris Games, dominated Francis in the super lightweight fight.
In only his second pro fight, Guruli (2-0) pulverized Francis (7-2) with an assortment of punches that included a punishing right uppercut and straight right.
He bloodied Francis’ nose in the second round and it continued to bleed throughout the fight.
The 5-foot-10 Guruli, a 28-year-old from the country of Georgia, smothered the 5-foot-5½ Francis, a 24-year-old from Britain. Eventually, Francis looked focused only on evading punches rather than throwing any.
His corner called for the fight to be halted after four rounds and the referee did so two seconds into the fifth round.
How to watch Usyk vs Dubois 2
Oleksandr Usyk will face Daniel Dubois on Saturday, July 19, and the event will be streamed on DAZN Pay-Per-View. In the U.S., fans can purchase the event for $59.99.
Date: Saturday, July 19
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
Usyk vs Dubois main event ring walks: 4:45 p.m. ET (estimated)
Stream: DAZN PPV
Watch Usyk vs Dubois with DAZN PPV
Usyk vs Dubois 2 fight card and odds
Fight card according to DAZN and odds according to BetMGM on Saturday:
Oleksandr Usyk (-300) vs. Daniel Dubois (+250): Undisputed heavyweight title
Lawrence Okolie (-250) vs. Kevin Lerena (+200): Heavyweights
Daniel Lapin (-450) vs. Lewis Edmondson (+350): Light heavyweights
Vladyslav Sirenko (-600) vs Solomon Dacres (+450): Junior welterweights
Aadam Hamed (-10000) vs. Ezequiel Gregores (+1400): Heavyweights (odds as of Thursday)
Lasha Guruli (-1200) vs. James Francis (+700): Junior welterweights
Usyk vs Dubois 2 predictions
USA Today: Usyk by TKO in 11th round
Josh Peter writes: ‘Almost two years have passed since Oleksandr Usyk beat Daniel Dubois in their first bout by ninth-round KO. Dubois has incredible power and showed as much when knocking down Anthony Joshua four times on his way to a fifth-round TKO victory last year. Yet in the final seconds of that fight, Dubois left himself open and took a hard shot that could have swung the fight. Dubois won’t be able to make the same mistakes against Usyk, whose technical soundness and elusive defense are superior.’
Bleacher Report: Usyk by TKO, Round 10
Lyle Fitzsimmons writes: ‘If you believe a KO of Joshua—whom Usyk has twice dismantled—warrants such a spike in relevance, so be it. But unless the splendid Ukrainian champion turns into a punched-out 38-year-old overnight, it’s another tactical mismatch. Expect several one-sided, clinical rounds on the way, with many so-called experts lamenting that they should have seen it coming.’
CBS Sports: Usyk via decision
Brent Brookhouse writes: ‘I think it’s more likely the fight goes the full 12 rounds. Both fighters know how dangerous the other is, and though Usyk finished Dubois in the first fight, Dubois has a booming level of confidence coming off of his thrashing of Anthony Joshua. Usyk only has two stoppages at heavyweight (Dubois and Chazz Witherspoon) and I don’t see a repeat of the first fight here. Dubois is the better boxer and those skills should be enough for him to come out on top on the scorecards, though either man getting a stoppage is in play.’
BetMGM: Usyk to secure repeat win
Staff writes: ‘I predict that Usyk will secure a repeat win over Dubois via TKO/KO stoppage, as his fighting style fits well with Dubois. His complete package of power, speed, timing, footwork, and fight IQ is the reason why he’s currently at the top of the heavyweight division and is the key to this second meeting with Dubois. Dubois undoubtedly has the one-punch knockout power that can put any contender and champion in the heavyweight division to sleep. However, the major problem is whether he can land it cleanly against Usyk, as Usyk also has an impeccable defense.’