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Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois

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For the 12 March 2025 match, see Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois II.

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois
Date26 August 2023
VenueStadion Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
Title(s) on the lineWBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, TBRB, and The Ring unified heavyweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Ukraine Oleksandr Usyk United Kingdom Daniel Dubois
Nickname The Cat Dynamite
Hometown Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine Greenwich, London, UK
Pre-fight record 20–0 (13 KO) 19–2 (18 KO)
Age 36 years, 7 months 25 years, 11 months
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 220.9 lb (100 kg) 233.2 lb (106 kg)
Style Southpaw Orthodox
Recognition WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, TBRB, The Ring and IBO
Heavyweight Champion
The Ring No. 3 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
2-division world champion		 WBA (Regular)
Heavyweight Champion
WBO
No. 8 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Usyk wins via 9th-round KO

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois was a heavyweight professional boxing match between WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and WBA (Regular) heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.

The bout took place on 26 August 2023 at Stadion Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland. Usyk defeated Dubois via knockout in the 9th round.[1]

Background

[edit]

Dubois became the mandatory challenger to Usyk after he defeated Trevor Bryan On 11 June 2022, by knockout in the fourth round to become the WBA (Regular) heavyweight champion. This was then followed up with a victory over and defence of his WBA (Regular) heavyweight title against Kevin Lerena on 3 December 2022. This set up a mandatory challenge to Usyk for the WBA (Super) heavyweight championship.[2][3][4][5]

On 3 April 2023, the WBA officially ordered the world title consolidation between unified heavyweight champion Usyk and WBA 'regular' titleholder Daniel Dubois (19–1, 18 KOs). Both parties were given a 30-day negotiation period. Earlier reports suggested the fight could take place in London or Manchester in England. Although no date or location had been confirmed, Alex Krassyuk stated the fight could take place in a stadium in Poland.[6][7][8]

In May 2023, purse bids were held. Usyk's career-long promoter Krassyuk gained control of the fight with a massive bid of $8,057,000, which was more than the $5,620,050 submitted by Queensberry Promotions. A fight date in August was being eyed. As per the purse splits, Usyk was to take home $6,042,750 (75% of the winning bid) and Dubois was to take a career-high $2,014,250 payday.[9] The fight took place on 26 August at the Stadion Wroclaw in Wrocław, Poland for Usyk's WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring titles. The date aligned with Ukraine's Independence Day. An attendance of around 24,000 was expected.[10][11]

The fight

[edit]

Usyk retained his titles via ninth-round stoppage, however there was controversy surrounding the events of the fifth round, when Usyk dropped to the canvas following a punch from Dubois that was ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon. Accordingly, Usyk was given a maximum of five minutes to recover, but despite declaring he was ready to continue, Pabon urged Usyk to take more time out. Usyk ultimately used three minutes and forty-five seconds before the fight resumed. Usyk forced Dubois to take a knee in the eighth round and again in the ninth round, where he was counted out.[12][13] According to CompuBox stats, Usyk had outlanded Dubois in every round of the fight, landing 88 of 359 punches thrown (24.5%) to Dubois' 47 of 290 (16.2%). Dubois failed to land double digits in any round of the fight.[14]

Debate subsequently followed regarding the fifth round low blow as many observers felt it should actually have been ruled a legal punch and thus potentially resulted in a KO victory for Dubois. In his post-fight interview, Dubois opined: "I didn’t think that was a low blow. I thought that landed, and I’ve been cheated out of victory tonight.” However, Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk argued "The belly button is the line. Anything low of that is a low blow." This argument was echoed by others including boxers Tony Bellew and Liam Smith.[15][16][17]

Aftermath

[edit]

Usyk would agree to an undisputed showdown with Tyson Fury set for 17 February 2024 (later pushed back to 18 May). Usyk would go on to beat Fury and become the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the current four-belt era (WBA-WBC-IBF-WBO) since Lennox Lewis in 1999.

After the defeat, Dubois rebounded with 2 TKO victories in Riyadh, against Jarrell Miller in 23 December and Filip Hrgović on 1 June the following year.[citation needed]

Following Usyk's announcement of vacating his IBF title in June, the belt was contested between Dubois and Anthony Joshua on 21 September at Wembley Stadium. The underdog Dubois would go on to shock the world with a 0:59 KO of Joshua in the 5th round, winning the vacant IBF heavyweight title in the process.

The Usyk vs. Dubois 2 rematch took place on Saturday, 19 July 2025 at Wembley Stadium in London for the undisputed heavyweight championship, where Usyk defended his WBA, WBC, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles, and Dubois defended his IBF heavyweight title in front of 90,000 fans. Usyk would win the rematch via 5th round KO to reclaim the undisputed title.[18]

Fight card

[edit]
Weight Class vs. Method Round Time Notes
Main Card
Heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk (c) def. Daniel Dubois KO 9 (12) 1:48 Note 1
Super Welterweight Aadam Hamed def. Vojtech Hrdý TKO 1 (4) 2:09 Note 2
Lightweight Denys Berinchyk (c) def. Anthony Yigit UD 12 Note 3
Heavyweight Hamzah Sheeraz (c) def. Dmytro Mytrofanov TKO 2 (12) 0:35 Note 4
Middleweight Anauel Ngamissengue def. Fiodor Czerkaszyn MD 8
Light heavyweight Daniel Lapin def. Aro Schwartz TKO 6 (10) 2:25 Note 5
Preliminary Card
Featherweight Oleksandr Solomennikov def. Piotr Gudel UD 1 (6) 2:41
Super Lightweight Ziyad Al Maayouf def. János Pénzes UD 6
Super Lightweight Bryce Mills def. Damian Tymosz UD 6
Welterweight Vasyl Chebotar def. Joel Julio TKO 6 (8) 1:15
Heavyweight Lazizbek Mullojonov def. Nursultan Amanzholov TKO 1 (6) 2:13
Middleweight Rafał Wołczecki def. Roberto Arriaza TKO 3 (8) 2:59
Lightweight Yaroslav Khartsyz def. Konrad Czajkowski UD 4

^Note 1 For WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, TBRB, and The Ring World Heavyweight championships
^Note 2 Hamed's professional debut
^Note 3 For WBO International lightweight championship
^Note 4 For WBC Silver Middleweight championship
^Note 5 For vacant IBO Continental Light Heavyweight championship

Sources:[19][20][21][22]

Broadcasting

[edit]
Country Broadcaster
Worldwide (unsold markets) Triller TV
Australia Main Event
Canada TSN+
Poland Megogo
Ukraine
United Kingdom TNT Sports Box Office
United States ESPN+

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Dennen, John (26 August 2023). "Oleksandr Usyk recovers to floor and knock out Daniel Dubois in unified heavyweight title fight – 'Tyson Fury next!'". SkySports.
  2. ^ Mike Coppinger (6 July 2023). "Oleksandr Usyk to defend world titles against Daniel Dubois". ESPN.
  3. ^ "Full Fury vs Chisora undercard finally revealed for Dec 3 Pay Per View". worldboxingnews.com. 29 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Boxing's greatest showman the star as Daniel Dubois chases heavyweight gold in Miami". The Independent. 10 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Daniel Dubois knocks out American Trevor Bryan to win WBA 'regular' heavyweight title". BBCSport. 11 June 2022.
  6. ^ Donovan, Jake (3 April 2023). "Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Dubois: WBA Formally Orders Heavyweight Title Consolidation Bout". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  7. ^ Staff, BoxingScene (31 March 2023). "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois in Talks: London and Manchester Are Options". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  8. ^ Staff, BoxingScene (26 April 2023). "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois Could Potentially Head To Poland". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  9. ^ Donovan, Jake (25 May 2023). "Usyk-Dubois: Alex Krassyuk ($8,057,000) Outbids Queensberry To Secure Rights, August 12 in Poland Eyed". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  10. ^ Mike Coppinger (6 July 2023). "Oleksandr Usyk to defend world titles against Daniel Dubois". ESPN.
  11. ^ Donovan, Jake (2 June 2023). "Usyk-Dubois Now Set For August 26 in Wroclaw, To Align With Ukraine Independence Day". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  12. ^ "Usyk vs Dubois LIVE: Results tonight after controversial low blow". The Independent. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk knocks out Daniel Dubois after 'low blow' controversy | DAZN News GB". DAZN. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  14. ^ August 2023, Kerr Ferguson on 27th (27 August 2023). "Scorecards And Punch Stats From Usyk-Dubois Show Complete Control". boxing-social.com. Retrieved 29 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "'I was cheated' – Dubois rages after defeat by Usyk". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Should 'distraught' Dubois be world champion?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  17. ^ August 2023, Kerr Ferguson on 27th (27 August 2023). ""It Was Low!" Fighters React To Usyk-Daniel Dubois Low Blow Controversy". boxing-social.com. Retrieved 29 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk Dazzles At Wembley, Knocks Out Daniel Dubois In 5th Round To Become Triple Undisputed King". RingMagazine.com. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  19. ^ "Usyk vs Dubois results, start time, live stream, how to watch, main event, undercard". fightmag.com.au. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk V Daniel Dubois as it happened – Oleksandr Usyk stops Daniel Dubois in ninth round". eurosport.com. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  21. ^ "'Prince' Naseem Hamed's son Aadam wins one-sided first fight". Reuters. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Khartsyz got his third victory in the professional ring". athletistic.com. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
Preceded by Oleksandr Usyk's bouts
26 August 2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Daniel Dubois's bouts
26 August 2023 		Succeeded by
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