Oleksandr Usyk reclaims all his belts: knockout triumph against Daniel Dubois in front of 83,000 fans at Wembley.
Oleksandr Usyk has impressively reclaimed his status as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. In a thrilling rematch, the Ukrainian stopped Daniel Dubois in the fifth round in front of over 83,000 fans at the legendary Wembley Stadium in London.
Usyk (24-0, 15 knockouts) snatched the IBF title from Dubois (22-3, 21 knockouts) and reunited it with his WBA, WBC and WBO belts. Almost two years after their first meeting in Wroclaw, Poland, which Usyk won by a late stoppage, he put in an even more dominant performance this time.
Right from the start, Dubois took the center of the ring and tried to dictate the fight. Usyk remained agile on his feet, countered with sporadic jabs to the body and repeatedly let Dubois run into space. Shortly before the end of the first round, the Ukrainian made an exclamation mark with a left hook and a precise right jab to the chin.
In the second round, Usyk stepped up the pace slightly and now hit the Brit’s body more regularly with his right jab. Dubois replied with a powerful right jab to the head, but Usyk cleverly countered with a left hook that briefly shook Dubois.
The third round brought a moment of shock for Usyk: a hard jab from Dubois left the champion reeling. But the Brit was unable to capitalize on this. Instead, Usyk found his rhythm and landed a hard left counter to the chin. The pundits at ringside, including Carl Frampton, gave the round to Dubois, but the danger seemed to be averted.
In round four, the pace initially remained slow. Dubois continued to work from the front and landed a hard punch on the waistline, but this time it was not counted as a low blow – unlike in the first fight. Usyk remained unimpressed, continued to work around the ropes and waited for his chance.
This came in the fifth round. Usyk sent Dubois to the floor with a surprising right hook. The challenger got up again, but looked battered. Usyk smelled blood and ended the fight a few moments later with a perfectly placed left punch to the chin. The referee stopped the fight at 1:52 of the fifth round.
With this victory, Usyk has impressively consolidated his position at the top of the heavyweight rankings and remains unbeaten. The boxing world is now eagerly awaiting the mega-fight against Tyson Fury.