Nearly two years after they first met, Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois are set to do battle again, live on DAZN PPV.

This time, the stakes couldn’t be any higher.

Usyk and Dubois will clash for boxing’s ultimate prize, the undisputed heavyweight title, today at Wembley Stadium in the United Kingdom. Usyk enters with The Ring, WBA, WBC and WBO belts, while Dubois holds the IBF title.

In their first fight Aug. 26, 2023, in Wroclaw, Poland, Usyk dominated Dubois and dropped him twice en route to a ninth-round knockout, though, it wasn’t without controversy. In the fifth, Dubois landed a right uppercut below the beltline, causing Usyk to crumble to the canvas. Referee Luis Pabon ruled it a low blow and gave Usyk nearly five minutes to recover. That moment has been central to the build up with Dubois and his camp believing it was a legal blow and that he should have won the fight by knockout.

Since that meeting, Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) became the undisputed heavyweight champion by defeating Tyson Fury by split decision on May 18, 2024. They met in a rematch on Dec. 21, and Usyk won in more convincing fashion, defeating Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) by unanimous decision to retain the WBA, WBC, WBO and Ring titles.

Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) has gone 3-0, all stoppages, and became the IBF champion after Usyk opted to vacate the title following his first victory over Fury. In his lone title defense, Dubois notched the best win of his career, knocking out former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in the fifth round at Wembley Stadium on Sept. 21.

Will it be revenge for Dubois? Or will Usyk defeat him again to become a three-time undisputed champion?

Here are the keys to victory:

Usyk’s footwork and foot speed gave Dubois fits and they should factor heavily into his game plan again.

Dubois is largely a lumbering and plodding power puncher. If his feet aren’t set, he’ll be off balance and his punches will likely do a lot less damage.

Usyk was able to move toward his right to be outside of Dubois’ left hand to keep him out of danger. The unified heavyweight champion would be remiss not to use that strategy again to see if Dubois has made his adjustments and will try to cut off the ring this time around.

If Dubois can’t cut off the ring, Usyk’s path to a second win over the IBF champion and becoming a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion could follow the same pattern as their first fight.

Dubois personifies what it means to have a puncher's chance.

Usyk can’t afford to give Dubois the opportunities he needs to land a big shot to pull off the upset. In a pure boxing match, few fighters, if any, have the skills to keep up with Usyk. But if it gets chaotic and there are numerous exchanges, that’d make the fight much more dangerous than it has to be for the Ukrainian.

If Usyk can keep the fight clean and under control, he’ll have the inside track to improving to 3-0 in rematches.

If Dubois’ confidence can build as the fight progresses, Usyk’s path to a win becomes that much more difficult.

The best way to avoid that is for Usyk to get off to a fast start. If Usyk can step on the gas from the outset, the memories from the first fight and doubt could start to creep in for Dubois. It’ll also go a long way toward tempering what should be a pro-Dubois crowd.

Usyk needs to come out firing his jab early and moving to his right to keep Dubois moving. From there, he can layer his attacks to the head and body and land bigger shots as Dubois tries to play catch-up.

And if Usyk can sustain a fast start, he could very well stop Dubois again.

From the opening bell against Joshua, Dubois set the tone with a hard jab. It was key in helping him find his range early and preventing Joshua from finding his rhythm.

If Dubois wants to have any chance of pulling off the upset, he must establish the jab early. Even if he isn’t landing it consistently, the threat of it could make Usyk more cautious and keep him at a range where Dubois could catch him at the end of his punches.

Dubois’ jab is a weapon, but if he doesn’t stay consistent with it, Usyk will be able to see everything coming and his chances of catching the unified champ are slim to none. If Dubois can find a way to land it consistently, he’ll likely disrupt Usyk’s rhythm, which can help set up bigger shots later.

Dubois didn’t throw or land anywhere near enough body shots to try and slow Usyk down. Of his minuscule 47 punches landed in eight-plus rounds, just 10 were to the body.

That can’t happen again.

When Fury and Joshua were having success against Usyk, it was largely because of their work to the body. Fury, in particular, was consistently landing the right uppercut to the body when he seized control of the first fight during the middle rounds.

Dubois has to put an emphasis on going to the body, especially with his right uppercut underneath Usyk's guard and stick with it throughout the fight. If he can’t, he’ll risk the same fate as their first meeting.

Dubois is much bigger and stronger. He has to fight that way, too.

Dubois can’t be afraid to make it dirty on the inside. He has to use his size to try and push Usyk around. Whether that means leaning on Usyk or digging his head underneath his chin, Dubois has to do whatever is necessary to make the unified heavyweight champion uncomfortable and slow him down.

If he can’t find his way to the inside and rough up Usyk, Dubois could be in for a long night. But if Dubois can find his way to the inside and use his physical advantages, it could pay great dividends for him as the fight enters the latter stages.