Following his stunning defeat of Tyson Fury all time great Oleksandr Usyk became undisputed heavyweight champion. Usyk was the first undisputed heavyweight champion in decades. However, following his victory 2 weeks later he was stripped of his IBF belt due to not fighting his mandatory and opting to rematch Fury. This left the IBF title vacant while Usyk fought and defeated Fury a 2nd time. In the meantime, it was decided that Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua would fight for the title, with Dubois being elevated to champion. Dubois would clean out Joshua and establish himself as a legit world champion. Dubois was scheduled to defend his belt against Joseph Parker last year, but pulled out due to illness. Now the belts will be brought together again for undisputed with a rematch between Usyk and Dubois being announced on social media.
Usyk vs Dubois 2
There had been speculation around what would be Usyk and Dubois’ respective next fights. Rumours emerged of Dubois fighting Derek Chisora and Usyk fighting Parker but now we have our answer. We will get another undisputed fight to determine the best in the heavyweight division again. The fight will be taking place in Wembley on July 19th a fitting location for a fight of this magnitude.
Despite this fight being a rematch, there is plenty of intrigue for this fight. Since their first fight back in 2023 things have changed for both fighters but mainly for Dubois. For Dubois he has gone on quite the winning spree and seems to have improved his mental fortitude. Dubois fought through adversity against Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Anthony Joshua stopping all of them. Furthermore these fights have given the young champion vital experience he was lacking.
Meanwhile, Usyk has continued to be extremely impressive with both of his wins over Tyson Fury. However, he has also gotten older. Despite being the consummate, professional and athlete Usyk is now 38 which brings challenges as he is undoubtedly on the physical decline. Heavyweights do tend to age slower than other fighters but for someone like Usyk who uses movement, speed, and cardio a lot he may be more susceptible to decline.
This fight will be a test of whether the old Usyk still has enough to beat Dubois or if this new improved Dubois will be too much for the former undisputed champion.
Featured Image Credit via Embed from Getty Images
