Ukrainian legend Oleksandr Usyk has catapulted himself to becoming the best heavyweight of the current era after knocking Daniel Dubois out in their second match held on Saturday, July 19, at the Wembley Arena in London, UK. With both fighters coming into the ring with their titles for an undisputed title bout, Usyk further made history becoming one of only a few boxers to become undisputed twice in the current four-belt era.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois
Unified [WBA, WBC & WBO] heavyweight (200+ lbs) Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KO’s) has distinguished as one of the best fighters this generation after putting up a show-stopping performance against British IBF champion Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KO’s).
The first 4 rounds were arguably closer than initially expected, with Dubois distinguishing himself quite well through his offensive acumen that allowed him to push Usyk back. Focusing more so on his defensive fundamentals, Usyk played it cautious in the early rounds, focusing on pinpoint counterattacks and jabs to derail Dubois where able.
As a result, the early portion of the fight was arguably evenly-sided, with Dubois’ pressure proving to have some success though Usyk’s defensive fundamentals in turn prevented Dubois from taking a clear foothold. Continuing to counter well, Usyk appeared to narrowly take most of the rounds through his ring IQ, always appearing a step ahead of the British fighter.
In the 4th round, the fight seemed to tilt heavily in Usyk’s favor after he appeared to found the proper distance and landed more punches than in the previous rounds. Dubois, who still lacked sufficient defense, failed to make an impact on the offense and found himself outworked by the 38-year old Usyk, despite his 27-years of age.
Usyk’s success bled over into the 5th and now iconic round as Dubois, feeling confident after a landed blow seemed to slightly buckle the Ukrainian, saw himself heavily exposed after he attempted to launch an offensive barrage while Usyk was in the corner.
Unaware of the counter that would occur, Dubois had little answer to Usyk’s left hand which hit him on the counter and dropped him. Dubois beat the count of 10 to continue, but Usyk pounced on him afterwards, landing another clean left hand to the chin that knocked the Brit down for the second time of the bout.
Though Dubois struggled to get up and failed to beat the 10-count, forcing the referee to call the match off which culminated in Usyk being declared the winner by knockout (KO).
With Dubois’ IBF title rightfully earned, Usyk now stands as the first heavyweight champion to become undisputed twice in the four-belt era; impressively in the span of a year after defeating Tyson Fury in May of 2024. With Usyk further able to record a record of 2-0 against at least three prominent British heavyweights in Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KO’s), Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24 KO’s) and Daniel Dubois, he also set an impressive landmark that distinguishes him as the best heavyweight of the modern era.
Arguably putting the Ukrainian has also put himself above countryman Wladimir Klitschko despite having come up from cruiserweight (200 lbs) and spending only six years in the heavyweight division as a competitor.
Undercard fights:
The co-main event featured a heavyweight contest between British fighter and former cruiserweight world champion Lawrence Okolie (22-1, 16 KO’s) who faced South African contender Kevin Lerena (31-4, 15 KO’s) in a 10-round bout.
Defending his WBC silver title, Okolie dominated for the most part as he won every round according to at least two scorecards. Lawrence Okolie showed improvement in his defense which prevented Lerena from being an outright threat. On the offensive side, Okolie was less impressive but nonetheless outworked Lerena in his third official contest at heavyweight.
Okolie ultimately won the bout by unanimous decision (UD) against the tough South African, winning through scores of 100-90 twice, and 99-91.
