Oleksandr Usyk v Daniel Dubois 2: Start time, preview, TV details

Times

7 days ago

For one man, a hall-of-fame career could be coming to an end. For the other, a victory could usher in the start of a new era of heavyweight dominance. The brilliant champion Oleksandr Usyk, at 38, has nothing left to prove, but feels like he has at least one more defence left. Daniel Dubois, 11 years his junior, has not had a smooth path to this point but is in the best form of his career.
After waiting 25 years for an undisputed heavyweight title fight, two come along in the space of 14 months. Saturday night's main event at Wembley between Ukraine's Usyk and Britain's Dubois will, however, be the first time that such a fight has been held in this country.
These two fighters have history, Usyk beating the far less experienced Dubois inside nine rounds in 2023. However, a contentious low blow landed earlier in the bout by Dubois left Usyk on the canvas, and the Greenwich man feeling robbed of a knockout victory after the fight.
Will Usyk have his hand raised once again on Saturday, or will Dubois get his revenge?
The previous time these men fought was in Wroclaw, Poland (the closest Usyk could get to a homecoming with his native Ukraine at war against Russia) in August 2023. The fight took place after Usyk had comprehensively beaten Anthony Joshua twice to win — and then retain — three of the four heavyweight belts, but before he fully unified the division against Tyson Fury.
Although the Ukrainian emerged victorious, stopping Dubois in round nine, the fight was marred by a low blow called against the British fighter. In round five Dubois hit Usyk with a right hand, just on the belt line. Usyk went down and the referee deemed that the shot was low. Usyk took the time allowed to recover and went on to reassert himself in the fight. Dubois complained after the bout that the shot was legal and that he had been 'cheated out of victory'.
Since making the move to heavyweight in 2019 Usyk has proved beyond doubt that he is the best of this generation. Back-to-back wins in fights over a previously unbeaten Fury — one of them for undisputed glory — after another two over Joshua have placed Usyk among elite company when talking about the greatest men in boxing's glamour division.
With one victory over Dubois already in the books, a second triumph against the man who has earned the reputation as one of the best fighters of the next generation would be the cherry on top of Usyk's legacy.
At only 27 years old, and with the improvement he has shown since losing to Usyk in 2023, the best years of Dubois' heavyweight career are most likely still ahead of him. He has always had the power, but his will has been questioned on more than one occasion; he took a knee in his first career loss to Joe Joyce in 2020 and did not get back to his feet after being knocked down by an Usyk jab in their first fight.
However, after wins over Jarrell Miller and then Filip Hrgovic, he set up an all-British clash with Joshua last September for Dubois' IBF world title (vacated by Usyk after the first Fury fight). Some thought that the veteran Joshua may prove too much, but Dubois put in a career-best performance, knocking down Joshua multiple times before stopping him in round five.
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Dubois is undoubtedly a better all-round boxer than the first time he fought Usyk, but it is no secret that power will be his main advantage. You only have to look back at the Joshua fight to see the effect of a Dubois overhand right. He should throw as many thudding rights to the body as he can to try to slow Usyk down.
He may also have the best jab among the modern crop of heavyweights. He used it to great effect against Joshua, establishing himself on the front foot moments into the fight, constantly disrupting his rhythm. He'll have to do the same to the tricky Usyk.
The former cruiserweight has not been the more physically imposing man in any of his heavyweight bouts, but nor has that ever been his way to win a fight. Usyk's brilliance lies in his movement and cardio. He constantly moves in and out of range, throwing punches and feints, so that his opponents never have a moment to breathe. Usyk overwhelms you with volume punches and then, living up to his nickname, 'The Cat', he pounces.
In the clip below, from Usyk's first fight against Joshua, you see the roaming right hand of the Ukrainian, constantly probing, and also blocking the view of the Briton so that he does not see the left hand coming. His brilliant footwork keeps him close enough to be a threat, but also far enough away from danger. This keeps Joshua on high alert, and saps energy as he tries to work Usyk out. No one has managed to yet.
Tony Bellew, who fought Usyk for undisputed cruiserweight gold in 2018, spoke of how he felt that he got the better of the Ukrainian in the opening exchanges. But he then realised that he had been fighting at top gear — while Usyk had been coasting — and had nothing left in the tank. Usyk knocked Bellew out in round eight.
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'It is the judgment of distance that Usyk has,' Bellew later said. 'This is what got me. I was absolutely exhausted after seven rounds. I have never been that tired in my entire life.'
This 12-round fight for the undisputed heavyweight title will take place on Saturday, July 19 at Wembley Stadium.
The undercard is set to begin at 5:30pm, while the ringwalks for the main event are scheduled for 9:50pm, just before the first bell at 10pm.
The fight will stream live exclusively on DAZN in over 200 countries worldwide, priced at £24.99 in the UK.