LONDON, England - For the first time in boxing history, all four heavyweight belts will be contested on British soil when Ring Magazine champion
Oleksandr Usyk takes on London’s own
Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night.
The pair have already met once before with Usyk coming out on top in Poland, but where does it count among his other most notable wins? And what are the victories that have put the rejuvenated Triple-D within a win of being the undisputed heavyweight champion? We have a look at their top five.
OLEKSANDR USYK
Tyson Fury I, 18.5.24, Kingdom Arena - SD 12
This was the night when boxing finally got the undisputed heavyweight champion it had craved for the best part of 30 years as IBF, WBA and WBO champion Usyk beat
Tyson Fury to add the WBC belt to his collection in their Ring of Fire clash. It had not started well for the Ukrainian, with Fury finding an early rhythm and seemingly assuming control of the fight but you can simply never count Usyk out.
He turned the tide in the middle rounds and in the ninth, landed a series of 14 unanswered punches which nearly stopped Fury. The Gypsy King did win the final round on all three scorecards but Usyk still claimed a split decision victory.
Tyson Fury II, 21.12.24, Kingdom Arena - UD 12
After insisting he had done enough to win the first fight, Fury did not hesitate to take the contracted rematch with Usyk and the pair got it on again just seven months later back at the Kingdom Arena. This time there would be no flashpoint like the ninth round of the first fight but it was every bit as competitive. Even so, all three judges agreed that the still undefeated Usyk won the fight 116-112.
Anthony Joshua 1, 25.9.21, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - UD 12
Having beaten Chazz Witherspoon and
Derek Chisora in his first two fights above the cruiserweight limit, this was the night that Usyk truly proved he was an elite heavyweight as he clearly outpointed AJ to claim the IBF, WBA and WBO belts in Tottenham.
Many had predicted that
Anthony Joshua would be simply too big and would hit too hard for Usyk but he could not land anything of note to knock the Ukrainian wizard out of his rhythm. Then, by way of cementing his point, Usyk repeated the trick by winning the rematch 11 months later, too.
Daniel Dubois, 26.8.23, Stadion Wroclaw - KO 9
This was a night drenched in controversy as Dubois famously landed a marginal body shot in the fifth round which referee Luis Pabon deemed to be low. Usyk had hit the deck and writhed around in pain and the fight did not restart for another six minutes.
Dubois and his team argued the shot was legal and that the challenger should have been rewarded victory but Usyk responded to the incident by regrouping and stopping his opponent with a jab early in the ninth.
Murat Gassiev, 21.7.18, Olimpiyskiy, Moscow - UD 12
This was the final step on Usyk’s incredible run to the undisputed cruiserweight crown, which had earned him the status as boxing’s true road warrior.
He had beaten Krzystof Glowacki in Poland, Michael Hunter in America, Marco Huck in Germany and Mairis Briedis in Latvia - so all that was left was to face WBA and IBF champion Gassiev in his native Russia. And in the defining moment of his cruiserweight career, Usyk produced a masterclass by dominating almost every minute of the fight, with the judges returning scores of 120-108 and 119-109 x 2.
DANIEL DUBOIS
Anthony Joshua, 21.9.24, Wembley Stadium - KO 5
Boxing history is full of moments where the torch is passed and in British heavyweight history there were few bigger examples than this one. Joshua, by now in his 30s, had been the nation’s golden boy since the Olympics in 2012 and had revolutionised the sport in this country over the course of his career. But the younger, fresher Dubois brutally dismantled him when they met at Wembley with knockdowns in the first, third and fourth rounds before Joshua was knocked out with a short counter right hand after a minute of the fifth.
Filip Hrgovic, 1.6.24, Kingdom Arena - TKO 8
The undefeated Hrgovic had been hailed as a future world heavyweight champion and he had started like one during this clash in Riyadh. But Dubois proved his durability in the early rounds as Hrgovic landed hard and regularly with big right hands to the chin which simply did not budge Dubois. Then, having weathered that early storm, Dubois worked his way into the fight before taking over completely. Early in the eighth, with Hrgovic badly cut over both eyes, the ringside doctor told referee John Latham the fight should be stopped.
Jarrell Miller, 23.12.23, Kingdom Arena - TKO 10
Given the nature of the stoppage defeat to Usyk, where some observers had accused Dubois of ‘quitting’ in Poland, the London man knew the pressure was on when he faced loudmouth Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller on the Day of Reckoning card two days before Christmas in 2023. This was a real blood and thunder fight between two big heavyweights and Dubois answered all his critics with the way he hung tough against a man who weighed over 100lbs more than him. And, just as it seemed the judges would be needed to find a winner, Dubois forced a stoppage with eight seconds left of the 10th and final round.
Nathan Gorman, 13.7.19, o2 Arena - KO 5
It is easy to forget that many people saw this 2019 clash for the vacant British heavyweight title as a 50:50 fight between two undefeated and unproven heavyweights.
But pretty early on it was clear that Dubois was a cut above his previously undefeated opponent who he dropped in the third round before the end came in the fifth. Dubois had manoeuvred Gorman back towards the ropes with a ramrod jab before an overhand right which landed high on the head sent him down and out.
Kevin Lerena, 3.12.25, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - TKO 3
This fight deserves a place on the list for the sheer madness of it. It was December outdoors at Tottenham and there is no doubt that Dubois was caught cold by the game former cruiserweight contender
Kevin Lerena. So cold, in fact, that Dubois went down three times in the first round and seemed to be heading towards a stunning defeat.
Despite suffering a serious knee ligament injury during those first three minutes, Dubois somehow found some composure and dropped Lerena twice before finding the finishing blow right at the end of the third.