Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois are set to fight again. The two heavyweights will meet at Wembley Stadium on July 19 with all four belts and undisputed honors on the line.
The pair first fought in August 2023 in Poland. Usyk won that bout by stoppage in the ninth round, but the fight wasn't without controversy. In the fifth round, Dubois knocked Usyk down with a body shot. The referee ruled it a low blow and gave Usyk time to recover. The fight continued, and Usyk went on to win.
Since that loss, Dubois has been on a tear. He scored impressive stoppage wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic. The victory over Hrgovic elevated Dubois to IBF world champion status. He followed that up with a win over Anthony Joshua in September 2024.
Former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew shared his thoughts on the rematch with SportingTalk:
"Let's not get away from anything, Daniel Dubois fought him once and we seen how that fight went. Everyone goes on about a shot, let's just be brutally honest, it hit the protector. Why is it called a protector? Because it protects you from certain shots."
Bellew's words suggest he considers the controversial shot from the first fight to be a legitimate blow.
The buildup to the rematch has already started heating up. At their first head-to-head, Dubois pushed Usyk, who remained calm as usual. This behavior is a far cry from Dubois' first world title shot when he was still finding his footing in the division.
Don Charles, Dubois' trainer, has accused Usyk of conning the referee in their first encounter. Now, as one of the division's form men, Dubois will aim to secure another impressive knockout.
The winner of this fight will have Joseph Parker waiting in the wings as the mandatory challenger. With so much at stake, both fighters will surely bring their A-game to Wembley Stadium on July 19.
