Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois contest a high-stakes rematch at Wembley this weekend with the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world on the line.
It is just under two years now since the duo first met in Poland, where Usyk retained his unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring titles in August 2023 with a ninth-round stoppage victory at Wroclaw’s Tarczynski Arena that was mired in controversy.
Dubois, making a huge step up that night as a massive underdog, felt he had been cruelly robbed of a career-defining triumph after sending Usyk to the canvas in the fifth with a wincing body shot that was ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon, with Usyk permitted almost four minutes to recover.
The defending champion was able to regather himself and dominate the bout thereafter as he secured knockdowns in both rounds eight and nine before proceedings were waved off, but Dubois and his camp were furious, with promoter Frank Warren seeing an appeal rejected to have the fight ruled a no contest and an immediate rematch ordered.
Usyk - who also previously held all the gold at cruiserweight - went on to become boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000 in his next fight as he outpointed Tyson Fury in Riyadh to add the WBC belt to his collection.
He only held that status for a matter of weeks, however, as he was forced to quickly relinquish his IBF belt as a rematch with the self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’ was swiftly and inevitably lined up, leaving him unable to face Dubois, who had claimed mandatory challenger status with the IBF by stopping Filip Hrgovic on the inaugural Queensberry vs Matchroom 5v5 card last summer.
Dubois was upgraded to full IBF champion without stepping back into the ring, successfully defending the belt for the first time with a devastating fifth-round knockout of Anthony Joshua in a shockingly one-sided all-British showdown at Wembley in September.
Usyk went on to beat Fury again on the judges’ scorecards in December to put him on a collision course with Dubois, who had to pull out of a fight against Joseph Parker in Saudi Arabia in February at late notice due to illness, replaced by Martin Bakole, who was knocked out in two rounds.
Now he’s desperate to seek revenge against the great Usyk, who surprisingly split from long-time promoter Alex Krassyuk last month to potentially disrupt his build-up.
Usyk vs Dubois 2 fight date and venue
Usyk vs Dubois 2 takes place on Saturday July 19, 2025 at Wembley Stadium in north-west London.
Usyk vs Dubois 2 fight time and ring walks
The undercard is expected to start at around 5:40pm BST on Saturday evening, with Usyk and Dubois likely to ring walk at approximately 9:45pm. As ever, those exact timings are subject to change.
How to watch Usyk vs Dubois 2
TV channel and live stream: In the UK, the event is being shown live exclusively on DAZN pay-per-view at a cost of £24.99, which gets you seven days full access to DAZN. A monthly subscription to DAZN costs £14.99 a month.
Live blog: You can follow the whole fight card live with Standard Sport’s blog on Saturday night.
Usyk vs Dubois 2 undercard
Former cruiserweight and bridgerweight world champion Lawrence Okolie co-headlines Saturday night’s card, fighting at heavyweight for only the second time as he defends his WBC Silver title against South Africa’s Kevin Lerena, a former Dubois opponent who successfully fought for Okolie’s WBC bridgerweight belt after it had been vacated.
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Lewis Edmondson challenges Ukraine’s Daniel Lapin for the IBF Intercontinental and WBA Continental light-heavyweight titles, while Solomon Dacres is in another heavyweight clash with Vladyslav Sirenko.
Prince Naseem’s son Aadam Hamed continues his professional career against Ezequiel Gregores and Liverpool’s James Francis meets Georgia’s Olympic bronze medalist Lasha Guruli.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois 2
Lawrence Okolie vs Kevin Lerena
Daniel Lapin vs Lewis Edmondson
Aadam Hamed vs Ezequiel Gregores
Vladyslav Sirenko vs Solomon Dacres
Lasha Guruli vs James Francis
Usyk vs Dubois 2 prediction
Though he insists he is tired of hearing about the low-blow controversy and been eager to play down the narrative in the build-up to this rematch, there is no doubt that the events in Wroclaw two years ago still rankle with Dubois and his team - trainer Don Charles recently claimed that Usyk should have won an Oscar for “conning” the boxing world.
The Ukrainian had looked in real trouble if that punch had been ruled as legitimate - as many believe it should - and would have had to harness real powers of recovery to ride it out and avoid a first-ever professional loss in shocking fashion.
Body shots are an area that Dubois will be keen to try and exploit again at Wembley, though Usyk will be only too alert to the threat posed and respond accordingly.
The version of Dubois that dominated Joshua was ‘Dynamite’ at his destructive and vicious best, with the raw power to knock out any fighter on the planet.
He will need to hope that an opponent some 10-and-half years his senior starts slowing down at last and perhaps showing the effects of two thrilling wars with arch-rival Fury.
But where have you been in the last few years if you are still doubting Usyk at this stage? He has achieved absolutely everything in the sport from Olympic gold to two-time undisputed world champion status, which we fully expect to become three this weekend with another impressive late stoppage. Let’s say round 10.
Usyk to win by late stoppage.
Usyk vs Dubois 2 weigh-in
The weigh-ins for Saturday night’s event take place at 3pm BST on Friday afternoon. Before that comes open workouts at BOXPARK Wembley from 4pm on Wednesday, plus a final pre-fight press conference at 1pm on Thursday.
Usyk vs Dubois 2 latest odds
Usyk to win: 1/4
Dubois to win: 3/1
Draw: 16/1
Usyk to win on points or by decision: 15/8
Usyk to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification: 1/1
Dubois to win on points or by decision: 11/1
Dubois to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification: 4/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
