Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois will put their belts on the line in two days to fight for the undisputed heavyweight crown.
Oleksandr Usyk hopes to become a three-time undisputed champion as he squares off with Daniel Dubois on Saturday night.
Dubois is aiming to avenge one of his two career losses with a win over Usyk, and to cement himself as Britain’s first-ever four-belt undisputed heavyweight world champion, and first British undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis.
While Usyk is 38 years old, Dubois, who promises ‘chaos’, has youth on his side at the age of 27; however, the most important key to victory is not his age, but his tactics.
George Groves reveals subtle movement is the key for Dubois to stop Usyk
In a breakdown of the fight on his channel, George Groves spoke on how Dubois can defeat Usyk.
Groves’ first point of note was something he’d like to see Dubois remove from his performance on fight night, which is his tendency to bounce a lot in the earlier rounds of a fight.
“[Dubois] loves to bounce. Now, I get it because I know loads of fighters who do put that bounce in because it puts them in a sharper frame of mind […] but for Daniel Dubois, he’s rarely in a threatening position when he’s bouncing in that way.”
Groves expanded on why bouncing like this against Usyk is a bad idea, “Every time you drop back, [Usyk] eats up the room in front of you, eats up the space in front of you. That’s what Dubois needs to be doing this time.”
Groves explained that Dubois should “nick an inch, nick an inch, nick an inch” by “creeping in” whenever Usyk falls back on his own bounce.
Groves’ second main point was that Dubois must cut off the ring in a smart way.
“Press him, but not desperate, you know. Keep inching in, cutting the ring off, if Usyk breezes this way, you can give him space to come out and come back to him.”
He concluded: “Most people say to beat Usyk, such a genius, you need a knockout to win. That might be the case for Daniel Dubois, but if he starts getting himself into range, relaxing, forcing Usyk to fight at his tempo, and then landing on him, who’s to say he couldn’t stop him?”
Derek Chisora advised Dubois to get crazier than Usyk in their rematch, too.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois – The stats
| Oleksandr Usyk | Daniel Dubois | |
| Last three fights | Tyson Fury – UD Win Tyson Fury – SD Win Daniel Dubois – KO9 Win | Anthony Joshua – KO5 Win Filip Hrgovic – TKO8 Win Jarrell Miller – TKO10 Win |
| Losses | None | 2020 – Joe Joyce – KO10 2023 – Oleksandr Usyk – KO9 |
| Amateur pedigree | 335-15 | 69-6 |
| KO% (of all fights) | 61% | 88% |
| Career achievements | 2018 – Undisputed cruiserweight champion 2024 – Undisputed heavyweight champion 2025 – Remains unified heavyweight champion | 2024 – IBF heavyweight world champion |
| Common opponents | Usyk def. Anthony Joshua via UD and SD | Dubois def. Anthony Joshua via KO5 |