Daniel Dubois will rematch Oleksandr Usyk this summer in London’s iconic Wembley Stadium, years after the KO that put him on the map.
Daniel Dubois is coming off one of the most impressive runs of form the heavyweight division has seen recently, as he beat Anthony Joshua, Filip Hrgovic, and Jarrell Miller after his loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
He seeks to right the wrong of that loss, and put to bed any low-blow controversy as he rematches Usyk this July.
Regardless of the result, though, Dubois has come a long way, and it was just six years ago that he made a statement KO over the prospect of one of boxing’s biggest legends.
Ricky Hatton watched Daniel Dubois knock out Nathan Gorman for the British title in 2019
In 2019, Dubois, 11-0, fought for the British heavyweight title against 16-0 Nathan Gorman. Dubois had won the English title four fights earlier and faced Kevin Johnson, the only man to take Dubois the distance, three fights earlier.
Gorman also came off a win over Johnson, and had also beaten seasoned journeyman Kamil Sokolowski, who despite his record, is a tough test for any rising heavyweight.
Boxing legend, Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton, was in Gorman’s corner for the fight, but even his expert advice was no match for Dubois’ onslaught, which saw Gorman dropped in the third round.
He picked himself up and regained his composure, but not for long. An overhand right in the fifth round closed the show for good, securing Dubois his 12th victory and the British title.
Daniel Dubois’ second British title fight was not as successful
After his win over Gorman, Dubois didn’t defend the British title, and instead blitzed Ebenezer Tetteh in one round for the Commonwealth title, before facing Kyotaro Fujimoto for the WBC Silver title.
One more fight against Ricardo Snijders led Dubois to the one fight that, for a time, destroyed his image.
In 2020, Dubois faced 11-0 Joe Joyce for the British, Commonwealth, and European titles.
The fight made it to the tenth round, with Dubois up on two of the three scorecards. Joyce didn’t leave it to the judges, though, and stopped Dubois with a punch that fractured his eye socket.
Dubois was accused of quitting after taking a knee, but has since proven many of his doubters wrong. Tony Bellew believes Usyk will KO Dubois in their rematch, though.