On Saturday night at London’s Wembley Stadium, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Daniel Dubois for a second time to retain his world heavyweight title. This time it took him only five rounds to get the job done, but in those five rounds we saw exactly what makes Usyk great and we learned a hell of a lot. Here are 10 of the things we learned...
1) Usyk has heavyweight power
The big question when Oleksandr Usyk decided to move from cruiserweight to heavyweight back in 2019 was whether his power would travel up with him. Never the biggest puncher, even at cruiserweight, Usyk was a man who relied more on timing, accuracy and speed than raw, fight-ending power. This led some to believe that he would struggle to hold his own at heavyweight, where the targets are slower but also bigger and more conditioned to soaking up punishment. As it turned out, however, Usyk had no problem in this regard. While most of his heavyweight fights have gone the distance, he has, in each of them, been able to make a dent in his opponent and never once has an opponent been able to walk him down or walk through him with no fear of what he might throw at them. On Saturday, when it would have been much easier to cruise to a win against a larger man, Usyk used his brilliant counterpunching to quickly demoralize Dubois and cut him down to size. The second he had him hurt, Usyk then jumped on him; got him out of there.
2) The jab remains the key
As eye-catching and devastating as the final left cross proved to be, one of the most impressive things about Usyk’s performance on Saturday was the use of his right jab from the southpaw stance. The first one he threw, he landed, just 15 seconds into the fight, and it was noticeable upon landing how quick and heavy it was as a single shot. Dubois, not expecting it, was rocked back on his heels and reminded that just because he is the bigger man with the longer arms does not mean he is better versed at using this bigger body and these longer arms. In fact, there are few boxers in the world who use timing and an off-kilter rhythm better than Usyk to get in and out and land shots without taking anything in return. He doesn’t need to be bigger than an opponent to land shots and have his way. He just needs to think quicker and be smarter.
3) A low blow should never be a selling point
Although much of the narrative leading into the rematch concerned Dubois’ recent form, there is still no denying that had Usyk not gone down from a low blow when they met back in 2023, Saturday’s fight would have fallen flat and had no reason to take place. Somehow that low blow managed to give the rematch some mystery and meaning and, for a few, concealed the fact that Usyk was otherwise dominant against Dubois the first time around. Not just dominant, it was, in all honesty, one of Usyk’s easiest fights as a heavyweight. The only fight he has found easier, perhaps, was his first, against Chazz Witherspoon, and also Saturday’s – the rematch – during which Usyk reacted with a knowing smile when caught low by Dubois in round four. This time, of course, he stayed upright; laughed it off. This time he gave nobody the satisfaction of turning it into something else.
4) Dubois has both time and a lot to learn
It was easy to fall into the trap of thinking Dubois would be a completely different fighter from the one who faced Usyk in 2023 and to some extent it was true – he was. He was certainly more confident, and more established as a heavyweight contender (okay, fine: “champion”). But there was truth as well in the view of Usyk’s team that Dubois had only shown “improvements” by virtue of him fighting men levels below Usyk in the two years since they first met. Opponents like Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, for example, will never be regarded the same way as Oleksandr Usyk and Dubois’ success against them indicated only that he was superior to that trio, not ready for Usyk. Besides, he had rough patches against all three – some brief, some longer – and there were indications, if you looked hard enough, that all the rough edges of Dubois’ game were still there and ready to be exploited – again – by the master. Still, the good thing from Dubois’ point of view is that, at 27, he has plenty of time; time, that is, to wait for Usyk to retire and then collect one of the belts he scatters in his wake.
5) Thirty-eight is young and just the beginning
The first thing Usyk looked to do following the Dubois win was remind people, via his post-fight interview, that 38 is no age at all – especially for a heavyweight boxer. Though grey hairs are starting to emerge, and though he has had quite the fighting life, Usyk shows no signs of slowing down or deterioration and was quick to assert this fact both during the fight itself and afterwards. All week he had had to listen to people use age as a reason why Dubois might have a chance, yet in Usyk’s case age is still a matter of wisdom rather than weakness.
6) The UK fans love Usyk
Saturday night was peculiar in terms of how allegiances were split. On the one hand, the 90,000 fans in attendance at Wembley Stadium felt a pull towards Daniel Dubois, the Brit, the Londoner, their home guy. Yet, on the other hand, many will have struggled to root against Oleksandr Usyk, someone so affable, and fun, and someone who earlier in the week expressed his love for the UK, even calling it his “second home”. In addition to his jovial personality, watching Usyk live and in person is viewed by many as a rare treat, not unlike watching Messi in the flesh or Federer and Nadal. It’s why, when he boxes, you will seldom hear boos, or a bad word said about him. Even the cheers for his opponent will often be muted. Because that’s what genius does in the end. That’s the power of it. It somehow manages to rise above tribalism and serves to both confuse and divide patriots.
7) Usyk isn’t retiring anytime soon
Increasingly it seems as though the only opponent Usyk has to fear at this stage in his career is that common one: Father Time. But that doesn’t mean he is as worried about Father Time as others are on his behalf. In fact, he remains content to tease, taunt, and tempt it. At 38, he is still very much at the peak of his powers and happy to keep pushing the boundaries, adding to his legacy, and making more and more money. Prior to Saturday, he mentioned doing two more fights including Dubois and that, given everything, would appear a sensible plan. The only concern is whether there are fights out there for Usyk deemed worthy of his time. The only other concern is that Father Time’s sneakiness, plus his ability to always prevail, means that Usyk will end up losing to either (a) someone he has already beaten, or (b) someone beneath him.
8) Everybody wants to fight Usyk
Whether any of them believe they can conquer him is up for debate, but one thing is certain: there is quite the queue forming behind Oleksandr Usyk. On Saturday alone the following fighters were mentioned in his post-fight interview as potential opponents: Tyson Fury, Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua, and Joseph Parker. Not only that, Usyk even suffered the indignity of being asked to square off with Jake Paul, a novice cruiserweight, for reasons unknown but presumably pertaining to publicity and content.
9) Usyk just wants to go home
It has always been a trend in boxing, but never more prevalent is the “who’s next?” question than it is today. Today, rather than let the victor bask in the glory of their win, or even reflect on their win, what you tend to see is an interviewer immediately try to push the story forward and focus on the future. That way they can create another story, of course, a new and better one, and they can keep people’s timelines full of content and speculation. In this instance, Usyk was too kind to tell either the interviewer to calm down, or remind him that most of the opponents lined up for him he had already beaten. Yet it was evident, both on his face and in his words, just how over it Usyk was. He just wanted to go home, he said. So, let him.
10) Fury still thinks he beat Usyk – twice
While it would be foolish to ever take Tyson Fury at his word, it is clear that him constantly pushing the narrative that he was “robbed” not once but twice against Usyk is a sign that he is irked by the fact the Ukrainian is considered the best heavyweight of his – their – era. After all, before meeting Usyk, many believed Fury would be the one to hold that distinction and that his nearest rivals were not cruiserweights coming up but instead the likes of Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. Now, having seen the picture change, and having been bested twice by Usyk, there is a sense that Fury is both ready for retirement yet also unfulfilled and disappointed with his lot. On Saturday night, for example, he was by all accounts out running the streets of Morecambe, supposedly motivated to get back and fight Usyk. He was then calling him all the old names and trying to convince us all that what we had seen had never actually happened.
