Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk will share the ring once again, as the two champions meet two years on from their first meeting.
Dubois and Usyk’s first fight was shrouded in controversy, as debates took place regarding a punch that was deemed to be low by the Englishman. After getting multiple minutes to recover from the blow, Usyk went on to stop Dubois.
The fight meant that Dubois could not become a unified heavyweight world champion. However, he would have an interim title upgraded the following year after a win over Filip Hrgovic.
On July 19th, 2025, the heavyweight champions will rematch for the undisputed title at Wembley Stadium. Ahead of the bout, Dubois is eager to get revenge.
Daniel Dubois reflects on his 2023 loss to Oleksandr Usyk
With his rematch bout with Usyk officially announced, Dubois reflected on his loss to the Ukrainian on Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions YouTube channel. The heavyweight said that from the bout, “There were a lot of lessons learned.”
The IBF World Heavyweight champion revealed that the loss made him ‘stronger,’ before saying, “It made me have to dig deeper.”
“I can’t wait to get my revenge on him and silence all the doubters.”
When asked about the controversial incident regarding the body shot, Dubois felt the punch was a fair one. “I’ve watched it enough times to know it was a [legal] body shot.”
Dubois said that he felt Usyk was ‘really hurt’, however, believes the incident “played into his hands a bit.”
Looking ahead to the rematch, Dubois said he wants ‘justice’ for the incident and is eager to ‘let his fists do the talking.’
Daniel Dubois can become the first British undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis
When Dubois and Usyk rematch, the two will compete for the status of undisputed world heavyweight champion.
Usyk will look for the title for the second time, as he is one of the few fighters to be undisputed in the four-belt era. His first win over Tyson Fury allowed him to fully unify the division in 2024.
As for Dubois, it would be his first time as an undisputed champion. No British fighter has held all of the heavyweight belts since Lennox Lewis.
Lewis retired in 2003. However, he gained undisputed status with his win over Evander Holyfield in 1999 in their second meeting.