It’s been a year and change since Oleksandr Usyk last stepped into a ring and not much has changed. 

Tyson Fury is the best heavyweight in the world. 

Usyk is his chief rival. 

They aren’t fighting each other in a clash of undefeated titans this Saturday (ESPN+, 5 PM EST). Efforts to make that fight failed to bear fruit and so Usyk moves on to his mandatory against a WBA sub-titlist with a lot of question marks. 

Daniel Dubois fell short in his biggest fight so far, a clash with Joe Joyce that ended in a stoppage defeat. In his last fight, Dubois was on the deck three times in the first before gutting it out to stop Kevin Lerena in the third. Nothing we’ve seen so far suggests Dubois is prepared for the elite at heavyweight, and it doesn’t get much more elite in any weight class than Usyk.

Can the younger challenger stun the world?

Let’s get into it. 

Stats and Stakes

Oleksandr Usyk

Age: 36

Titles: IBF/WBA/IBO/WBO heavyweight (2021-Present, 1 Defense); TBRB/Ring Heavyweight (2022-Present, 0 Defenses)

Previous Titles: WBO Cruiserweight (2016-19, 6 Defenses); WBC Cruiserweight (2018-19, 2 Defenses); Lineal/TBRB/Ring/WBA/IBF Cruiserweight (2018-19, 1 Defense)

Height: 6’3 

Weight: 221 lbs.

Stance: Southpaw

Hails from: Shypyntsi, Ukraine

Record: 20-0, 13 KO (26-0, 15 KO including World Series of Boxing fights)

Press Rankings: #2 (ESPN) 

Record in Title Fights: 9-0, 3 KO

Last Five Opponents: 148-17-1 (.895)

Notable Outcomes, TBRB and/or Ring Rated Foes: Krzysztof Glowacki UD12; Marco Huck TKO10; Mairis Briedis MD12; Murat Gassiev UD12; Anthony Joshua UD12, SD12 

Additional Current/Former Titlists Faced: Tony Bellew TKO8 

Vs.

Daniel Dubois 

Age: 25

Title: None* 

Previous Titles: None

Height: 6’5   

Weight: 233 ¼ lbs.

Stance: Orthodox

Hails from: Greenwich, London, United Kingdom

Record: 19-1, 18 KO

Press Rankings: #4 (BoxRec) 

Record in Major Title Fights: 1st title opportunity (3-0, 3 KO in WBA interim or sub-title fights)

Last Five Opponents: 100-6 (.943)

Notable Outcomes, TBRB and/or Ring Rated Foes: None

Additional Current/Former Titlists Faced: None

*Dubois won the WBA sub-title against Trevor Bryan in 2022 and has defended once.

The Pick: This fight is hard to get excited for. This is Usyk’s third opponent in five heavyweight starts to be found nowhere near the top ten of TBRB or The Ring, a marked difference from his impressive clean out at cruiserweight. Dubois has a proverbial puncher’s chance but that rarely amounts to much and there isn’t any particular quality win on his resume to point to for hope. Usyk is quicker, more elusive, more experienced, and while he might be the former cruiserweight king he’s plenty big enough for heavyweight. Usyk is as big or bigger than most of the lineal heavyweight champions in the history of the sport. He was more than big enough to beat Joshua going away twice. 

Against Dubois, Usyk will have to be careful with the aggression energy of the younger man early and the fight might look competitive through four or five rounds. By the middle of the fight Usyk should have any rust shaken off and his greater skill level is too big an advantage. Usyk has a chance at a late stoppage but the smart pick is a clear points victory for Usyk.  

Rold Picks 2023: 26-7

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com