Dubois: 'Whatever way it goes down, I’m not going to be denied'
Brit seeks revenge against Usyk in unification rematch to crown the undisputed heavyweight world champion
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There are those who examine the matchup between lineal and unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and IBF titleholder Daniel Dubois and think back to August 2023.
That is when Usyk defended the IBF, WBO and WBA belts in a mandatory bout against then-WBA “regular” titleholder Dubois in Wroclaw, Poland.
Usyk thoroughly dominated and was way ahead on all three scorecards — 79-72, 79-72 and 78-73 — when he dropped Dubois with a jab in the ninth round and he quit on his knee while taking the 10-count.
Dubois and his team bitterly complained that a fifth-round body shot that dropped Usyk and badly hurt him was legal but it was properly ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon, who gave Usyk time to recover as the rules allow.
That performance surely has many convinced that Dubois has little chance when they meet again, this time for the undisputed title in the main event of a Queensberry Promotions card on Saturday (DAZN PPV, 12:30 p.m. ET, $59.99) at London’s sold-out Wembley Stadium, where a crowd of about 90,000 is expected.
But then there will be those who look at what Usyk and Dubois have done since that fight nearly two years ago and give Dubois one hell of a chance to become the first British undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis did it in 1999 with his rematch win over Evander Holyfield.
