Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois will meet in a highly-anticipated rematch on July 19th when they compete for undisputed status.
It will be the second meeting between the pair as Usyk and Dubois had a controversial first meeting where the subject of conversation was a low-blow.
As the shot was ruled illegal, Usyk was given several minutes to recover. However, Dubois feels that he landed the punch in a legal area.
With their first meeting happening in 2023, both fighters have gone on to face other top opposition. Ahead of their rematch, Usyk gave his opinion on what has changed for Dubois.
Oleksandr Usyk says Daniel Dubois is ‘maybe’ a better fighter than he was in 2023
In a recent interview with DAZN, Usyk sat down with former world champion Carl Frampton to discuss his upcoming fight at Wembley Stadium with Dubois.
Usyk said that Dubois’ performance in their first meeting was “good,” despite being stopped in round nine via knockout.
In terms of the qualities of Dubois, Usyk said, “Daniel is a good athlete, a good boxer, [he] has good skill. Daniel’s last three fights have been great wins. Hrgovic, Miller, and Anthony Joshua, he’s a great fighter.”
Frampton then asked Usyk if he believed that Dubois was currently a better fighter than he was when they met for the first time. The Ukrainian responded by saying, “Maybe, yeah.”
Usyk then added that he feels that Dubois has ‘grown’, both as a boxer and as a man.
The unified champion also said that ‘DDD’ is deserving of the fight with him, as opposed to the likes of Joseph Parker, who is coming off a knockout over Martin Bakole.
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Oleksandr Usyk says he could have gotten up from illegal low blow to beat potential count
Usyk was asked by Frampton to reminisce on the low blow that he received from Dubois in their 2023 meeting.
The two-time undisputed champion was asked, if the referee deemed the blow to be a legal one, if he could have gotten up to beat the count.
Usyk’s response was, “If the referee starts [to count], I wake up. No problem for me.”
However, Usyk did not want to dwell on the moment, saying, “It’s in the past.”