LONDON, England — Oleksandr Usyk upheld his promise to become a triple undisputed champion by crushing Daniel Dubois at Wembley - and there was a certain sense of irony that he finished the job in the fifth.

The Ukrainian, the Ring Magazine No.1 pound-for-pound fighter, put his Ring, WBA, WBO and WBC belts on the line against Dubois, in a bid to reclaim the IBF title he never lost.

And, at the age of 38 and in what he insists will be the penultimate fight of his all-time-great career, Usyk produced perhaps his most dazzling performance as a heavyweight in front of nearly 100,000 people at England’s national stadium.

This was a masterclass in counter-punching against Dubois, who he first beat 23 months ago. The talk in the build-up was that Dubois had grown since that night, registering wins over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua in the interim, and was ready to catch a fading Usyk on the way down.

But Usyk himself had beaten Tyson Fury twice since he defeated Dubois and, far from faded, looked as good as he ever has as a heavyweight.

That first win in Wroclaw, which came in the ninth round when an exhausted Dubois was stopped by a jab, had been shrouded in controversy due to an incident in the fifth. Dubois dropped Usyk heavily with a beltline shot that referee Luis Pabon had deemed illegal. Usyk, therefore, was given time to recover and the rest is history.

For the Ukrainian great to deliver this conclusive knockout victory, via a stunning left hook, in the fifth round provided the most conclusive full stop, if it were needed, to his Daniel Dubois chapter. He is now a two-time undisputed champion at heavyweight, adding to the one time he did it at cruiserweight.

“38 is a young guy,” the 24-0, 15 KOs Usyk said afterwards. “Remember. 38 is only the start.”

Slate-grey sky and incessant rain that had hung over Wembley for much of Saturday had made way for a clear night in the capital and the fans packed into Wembley in anticipation of the first four-belt heavyweight title fight on these shores. They also wanted the chance to see Dubois attempt to register perhaps the most significant home win in Britain since Randolph Turpin beat Sugar Ray Robinson across London at Earls Court in 1951.

But it was evident pretty quickly that Usyk had not lost a step, firing a stiff jab directly through Dubois’ guard within 10 seconds of the opening bell. It was a punch he did not seem capable of missing with as he caught the marauding Dubois time-and-time again.

It was not, however, one-way traffic and Dubois found the target with hard right hands of his own, and even backed Usyk into a corner before the round was out.

But the Ukrainian, who was backed by a noisy portion of the Wembley crowd, refused to allow Dubois to get away with walking him down without finishing every exchange with a hard counter. With 13 seconds left of the second round, he slipped and replied with a crunching left hand which Dubois clearly felt.

Dubois stormed out onto the attack at the start of the third but it was a similar story from Usyk, who simply kept his head and feet moving, timing Dubois on his way in every time and countering effectively. Dubois has proven the merits of his chin in recent years but, although he appeared to be taking the shots well, they were clearly making him more and more reluctant to throw. They were also visibly tiring him out.

It meant he was something of a sitting duck when Usyk decided to turn the screw in the fifth round, nearly two years on from the most controversial moment of his heavyweight career in Wroclaw. But this time there would be no debates or appeals as Usyk closed the show in spectacular fashion.

He had already downed Dubois once with a right hand that landed high on the head. The Londoner managed to clamber to his feet but it was clear a finish was imminent. As he swung his Hail Mary, Usyk once again timed the counter to perfection, landing a huge left hand which left Dubois out for the count.

He is now undisputed once again and, apparently, on the approach to his final fight. When asked who that might be against, Usyk was non-committal.

“Next, I don't know,” he added. “I want to rest. I want to spend time at home with my family, my wife and children. I want to rest for maybe two or three months and just rest.”

When pressed for a potential opponent, he added: “Who next? Maybe Tyson Fury.

“Or there is Dereck Chisora, Anthony Joshua or maybe Joseph Parker. I cannot say now. I want to go home.”

At 23-0, as a three-time undisputed champion and one of the greatest heavyweights in history, he has earned that rest.