On Saturday, unified(IBF/WBA/WBO) heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) dominated and defeated Daniel Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs) by ninth-round KO at Tarczyński Arena in Wroclaw, Poland.
The Ukranian dropped Dubois in the eighth, ultimately putting him away with a right hand in the ninth.
However, everyone is talking about what happened in the fifth round.
Dubois landed a right hand to the body that dropped Usyk; however, referee Luis Pabon did not begin a count and ruled immediately that it was a low blow. Usyk was given five minutes to recover.
According to Dubois, the blow was clean, and he should have won the fight.
“I didn’t think that was a low blow, and I’ve been cheated out of victory tonight,” Dubois said after the loss.
Usyk disagreed.
“You are not allowed to hit a man in his ba***,” he said.
The shot appeared to be low, but it was close. It was a judgment call by Pabon, and the champion got the benefit of the doubt. You do wonder if Pabon would have actually counted if Usyk would have gotten up in time. He appeared to be hurt, but maybe his reaction to the shot was a byproduct of him knowing it was called a low blow. In the end, we’ll never know.
In reality, Usyk dominated most of the fight. He was in complete control from start to finish.
Regarding Dubois, it appears he quit in this fight. He did seem to be really hurt in the ninth. However, it may have been a situation where he was gutted after not getting the knockout in the fifth.
With Dubois out of the way, Usyk can put his focus on WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who will battle MMA start Francis Ngannou in October, so if Fury can win the fight, which is expected, an undisputed clash can happen.
Let’s hope we get an undisputed clash at heavyweight sooner than later.
Ukraine’s unified WBA/WBO/IBF heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk will defend his titles against WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois on Saturday, August 26 at Tarczyński Arena Wrocław in Wroclaw, Poland.
Usyk, a 36-year-old southpaw who hopes to become the undisputed king in a second weight class, will spend Ukrainian Independence Day weekend putting his belts on the line against London’s hard-hitting Dubois.
Usyk-Dubois and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the United States starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.
Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs), a two-time Olympian and 2012 gold medalist, ended his amateur career with a record of 335-15. He turned pro in 2013 and secured the WBO cruiserweight world title in September 2016 by defeating Krzysztof Glowacki. In 2018, he became the undisputed cruiserweight champion in the World Boxing Super Series, claiming the WBC title against Mairis Breidis in January and the WBA and IBF belts from Murat Gassiev in July. He defended his crown with an eighth-round TKO against Tony Bellew in November before moving up to heavyweight with a seventh-round stoppage victory against Chazz Witherspoon in October 2019. After a decision win over Derek Chisora in October 2020, Usyk defeated unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to become unified champion the following September. Usyk returns after defeating Joshua in their August 2022 rematch.
Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) started his career in the paid ranks in April 2017 with a first-round TKO against Marcus Kelly. He went 15-0 with 14 knockouts in his first three years as a pro before suffering his first setback, a 10th-round stoppage loss to Joe Joyce in November 2020. Since then, he’s won four straight, including a fourth-round knockout against unbeaten American contender Trevor Bryan. The 25-year-old slugger is coming off a third-round TKO win against Kevin Lerena last December.
WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will defend his crown against Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, December 3. Also, that night, WBA(secondary) world champion Daniel Dubois will make the first defense of his belt against South African southpaw Kevin Lerena.
Fury will again perform on UK soil following his April knockout of mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte in front of 94,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.
The two first met in July 2011 with the British and Commonwealth titles at stake, and Fury prevailed by unanimous decision. The two would fight again in 2014, and again, Fury was victorious, this time by stoppage.
During his career, Chisora (33-12, 23 KOs) challenged for the WBC title and gave a good account of himself against Vitali Klitschko in Munich before entering into a grudge match at West Ham United’s Upton Park against another British rival in David Haye.
In recent years, Chisora has been involved in two close encounters with Dillian Whyte and one with Usyk while defeating Carlos Takam, Artur Szpilka, and David Price. Last year, he lost a pair of tight affairs with Joseph Parker.
His last fight was an exciting points victory over former world title challenger Kubrat Pulev in July.
Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) remains an undefeated champion and completed his remarkable return from the boxing wilderness with a resounding rematch victory over Deontay Wilder in February 2020, with the Bronze Bomber saved by his corner in the seventh round.
A trilogy battle followed eight months later, which delivered a Las Vegas thriller where Wilder was put down in rounds three and ten and Fury down twice in round four before knocking out the former WBC ruler in the 11th.
The 25-year-old Dubois (18-1, 17 KOs) seized his world title belt in June when he traveled to Miami and demolished previous champion, Trevor Bryan, inflicting a first defeat on the American via a fourth-round stoppage.
Lerena (28-1, 14 KOs), 30, is a recent addition to the heavyweight ranks, having established himself as the IBO world cruiserweight champion, making six defenses of the title. At heavyweight, he has recorded victories over contenders Patrick Ferguson, Bogdan Dinu, and Mariusz Wach.
Clearly, this is a fight no on wants, but according to the press release to announce the fight, Fury said he would like to face unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, so let’s hope Fury is a man of his word.
Three more exciting matchups have been finalized for the highly-anticipated Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley SHOWTIME PPV fight card. Former world champion Ivan Barancyhk will compete along with U.K. stars Daniel “Dynamite” Dubois and Tommy “TNT” Fury making their U.S. debuts in separate bouts on Sunday, August 29 from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
The five-fight SHOWTIME PPV telecast will begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and be headlined by renowned content creator and undefeated professional boxer Jake “The Problem Child” Paul taking on the toughest challenge of his young career in the former UFC champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley. The card also features the previously announced world championship showdown between Puerto Rican star and WBC/WBO Featherweight World Champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano and super bantamweight world champion Yamileth Mercado of Mexico, which will serve as the co-featured bout.
A former junior welterweight world champion, Baranchyk will step into the ring to face the unbeaten Cleveland-native Montana Love in a 10-round showdown on the pay-per-view. Baranchyk seeks another run at the 140-pound title, while Love looks to score a career-best win.
The hard-hitting heavyweight Dubois, who is ranked No. 1 by the WBA, will face Joe Cusumano in a 10-round matchup, and Fury, the younger brother of heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, will square off against combat sports veteran Anthony “Pretty Boy” Taylor in a six-round, 180-pound catchweight fight to open the pay-per-view telecast.
Additional action at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse includes top-10 ranked junior middleweight and 2016 U.S. Olympian Charles Conwell taking on Lucas Bastida of Argentina in a 10-round fight. Paul, Love and Conwell will be fighting critical bouts in front of their hometown fans at the Cleveland arena.
The Belarusian Baranchyk now fights out of Oklahoma and will look to move closer to another world title opportunity with a win August 29. Sporting a 20-2 record with 13 knockouts, the 28-year-old returns to the ring after fighting in the 2020 Fight of the Year against Jose Zepeda last October. The two fighters combined to score a staggering eight knockdowns in the instant classic won by Zepeda. Baranchyk became a world champion in 2018 by stopping then unbeaten Anthony Yigit in seven rounds. He steps in against Love, a graduate of the ShoBox: The New Generation series who owns a 15-0-1 record with seven knockouts. A highly accomplished amateur, Love will be fighting in his hometown of Cleveland for the second time in his career.
“This is a big step for me,” said Baranchyk. “I am grateful to get back in the ring with someone like Montana after my loss. I want to show everyone that I’m back, I’m stronger, and I’m a new version of myself. I want to thank my fans for the support you’ve always given me. On August 29, it’s SHOWTIME, baby!”
“I know Ivan is a strong young fighter, but he has some ugly habits,” said Love. “We’re having a grueling camp right now and I’m going to keep it ‘Too Pretty’ on fight night. Cleveland deserves the show I’m about to put on.”
A promising heavyweight contender at 23 years old, Dubois has compiled a 16-1 record with 15 knockouts since turning pro in 2017. Dubois had an impressive amateur career as a five-time British junior national champion. A London-native, Dubois’ lone professional loss came against top heavyweight contender Joe Joyce in November 2020. Dubois rebounded quickly with an emphatic second-round knockout of Bogdan Dinu in June to capture the Interim WBA Heavyweight Title. Now, he takes on the 33-year-old Cusumano, who has won four of his last five bouts with all of those victories coming by stoppage. With a record of 19-3, his 17 knockouts give him an impressive 77% KO ratio. Fighting out of Danville, Virginia, Cusumano most recently knocked out Gregory Corbin in November 2020.
“I am ready now to push on and build on the WBA interim title I won in my last fight,” said Dubois. “I am thrilled to take the show on the road and look to win the American public over. I am told the American public love heavyweight boxing, so it is time to introduce them to Daniel Dubois. I will make sure it is a name they won’t forget.”
Already a crossover star after his runner-up finish on the hit U.K. reality TV show “Love Island”, Fury will look to follow in the footsteps of his boxing-rich family and establish his own championship legacy. The 23-year-old from Manchester is 6-0 with four knockouts, having most recently earned a unanimous decision over Jordan Grant in June. Fury will be opposed by Alameda, California’s Taylor, an experienced MMA competitor who dropped his sole pro boxing appearance in 2017 by split-decision. The 32-year-old’s MMA experience includes five Bellator fights and a 7-5 overall record with wins in his last five fights. Taylor is currently training in Puerto Rico and is a regular sparring partner of Jake Paul as he prepares for his bout against Woodley.
“American fans can, as always with me, expect a big dirty knockout,” said Fury. “That is what I say and that is what I try to bring. I want to put on a masterclass performance and show levels again and show how much I am improving. This is another step on my journey to world titles.”
