Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois 2: Let's break down the pair's 10 best combined wins

Yahoo

3 days ago

Wembley Stadium in North London plays host to its first undisputed heavyweight title fight Saturday night, as heavyweight belt-holders Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois rematch in front of an expected crowd of 90,000.
The pair first met in 2023 in Wroclaw, Poland, where a controversial low blow in the fifth round marred the knockout win that Usyk subsequently secured, sowing the seeds for this rematch.
Usyk and Dubois have notched a combined 45 wins throughout their professional careers, but what were the truest standout performances? Let's take a look at the top 10:
1. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 1, May 18, 2024: Split decision
Usyk proved to the world just how great he was in defeating a brave Fury in their first meeting.
Usyk had to navigate the Briton's unpredictable attacks, bizarre showboating and a dominant purple patch through Rounds 5-7 before Usyk began to turn the tide.
Usyk can consider himself unfortunate not to have recorded a stoppage over Fury in Riyadh in the ninth round of this bout, as the lumbering Fury staggered around the ring with glazed eyes following a vicious assault from the Ukrainian.
But despite taking 14 unanswered punches, Fury's powers of recovery saw him given the benefit of the doubt by referee Mark Nelson.
Usyk won a split decision on the cards, handing Tyson Fury the first defeat of his professional career.
2. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2, Dec. 21, 2024: Unanimous decision
There was little clowning around from Fury in the rematch.
The Briton came out aggressively and concentrated, but Usyk was once again able to manage 12 rounds of combat perfectly in order to gain the victory.
There was less drama than the first meeting, and despite some adjustments from Fury, Usyk was able to find the bigger more conclusive moments in the fight — and there is a solid argument to suggest Usyk won every round in the second half of the fight, except the 12th.
3. Daniel Dubois vs. Anthony Joshua, Sept. 21, 2024: 5th-round KO
Dubois pummeled Joshua inside five rounds in one of the most brutal heavyweight bouts of the year.
'DDD' arrived inside Wembley Stadium as the rank underdog to the former unified heavyweight world champion, but peppered 'AJ' with a merciless jab, breaking down the former Olympic gold medalist and dropping him four times before he was counted out.
This win capped a fantastic run of three victories for Dubois, earning the IBF world heavyweight title outright and catapulting him into the conversation at the top of the division.
Dubois' maturity and control underlined his growth as a boxer over the previous couple of years, and he was clinical in closing the show against the darling of British boxing.
4. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Murat Gassiev, July 21, 2018: Unanimous decision
A Ukrainian fighting in Russia was a strong narrative in 2018, even if it pre-dated Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Usyk's homeland four years later.
Rounding out a successful World Boxing Super Series at cruiserweight, Usyk bullied, picked off and routed Gassiev to unify the division and rubber-stamp his dominance of a talented division.
What was considered a competitive final pre-fight turned into one of the best performances of Usyk's career.
5. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Mairis Briedis, Jan. 27, 2018: Majority decision
Usyk shouldn't be docked points for the manner in which he edged this majority decision.
Both men underlined why they were at the very top of the cruiserweight division that night in Riga, Latvia, and despite the fight not really catching fire in a traditional sense, it was one for the purists to purr over.
This was the toughest fight of Usyk's career at the time, which leaves its ranking floating in the middle — and one he'd go on to learn a hell of a lot from.
Briedis would go on to win his next five — including winning the second staging of the cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series — before running into back-to-back, yet competitive, losses to Jai Opetaia.
6. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua 1, Sept. 25, 2021: Unanimous decision
Joshua was the betting favorite, but as the rounds slowly ticked by inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it soon became apparent Usyk's style as a heavyweight was all wrong for the Londoner.
Usyk's front-footed pressure and intelligent feints forced Joshua into a passive role across 12 rounds, and the champion was able to hurt the home fighter on a number of occasions.
Usyk cruised to a unanimous decision — with official cards tighter than expected after gauging ringside reaction — and in the process became a two-weight world champion. He also joined Evander Holyfield and David Haye in becoming the only champions at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
7. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua 2, Aug. 20, 2022: Split decision
Joshua came closer in the rematch, but Usyk still didn't look close to relinquishing his crown to the Briton.
Joshua showed real improvement in his willingness to impart some of his natural power and explosiveness on Usyk, but the champion was once again far too quick and savvy to be lured into a brawl.
Glenn Feldman controversially scored the bout 115-113 to Joshua, but this was forgotten in the aftermath following Joshua's in-ring passionate speech.
8. Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgović, June 1, 2024: 8th-round KO
Dubois showed his heart to come from behind against Hrgović, eventually stopping the Croatian heavyweight in an entertaining Saudi scrap.
Hrgovic was considered one of the boogeymen of the heavyweight division before this 2024 bout, but Dubois' heavy hands proved the antidote to this notion, earning Dubois the interim IBF heavyweight title.
Dubois got hit — and hit hard — by Hrgovic but showed a resilience that had previously been placed under the microscope after losses to Usyk and Joe Joyce.
His work rate also improved, and that evening the blueprint was made for an eventual win over Joshua for the full title.
9. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew, Nov. 10, 2018: 8th-round TKO
In what was to be Usyk's final act as a cruiserweight, the Ukrainian pummeled into retirement the brash Bellew in a controlled onslaught.
Usyk was in cruise control for a majority of the eight rounds inside the Manchester Arena, and despite Bellew enjoying pockets of success — and favorable scores from the judges — the result looked fairly academic once Usyk decided to go through the gears.
This victory crowned Usyk's cruiserweight reign of terror, running through seven straight opponents in world-title contests in six different countries.
10. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Krzysztof Głowacki, Sept. 17, 2016: Unanimous decision
The Marco Huck or Głowacki bout was always going to make up the 10th spot. I mean, few have ever authored a top-nine piece, have they?
But despite going the distance, Glowacki had more in the tank in 2016 than Huck did in 2017, with the Pole coming into this WBO cruiserweight title fight unbeaten in 24 outings.
Usyk dominated a one-sided fight on away soil in Poland, kickstarting his previously mentioned reign of terror at the 200-pound limit.