Usyk knocks out Dubois to become undisputed world heavyweight champion
LONDON: Oleksandr Usyk cemented his status as the outstanding heavyweight of his generation with an emphatic fifth-round knockout of Daniel Dubois in their undisputed world title bout at London’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Victory saw Ukraine’s Usyk extend his unbeaten professional record to 24 fights as the WBA, WBC and WBO champion added his British opponent’s IBF belt to his collection. Usyk dominated the opening four rounds and early in the fifth he dropped Dubois to the canvas. Moments later he finished the fight in decisive fashion after a trademark left hook left his British rival unable to beat the count one minute and 52 seconds into the round. It was the second time Usyk, at 38 some 11 years older than his opponent, had defeated Dubois following a ninth-round stoppage success in Krakow, Poland, in 2023, where the Briton was ruled to have landed an illegal low blow in the fifth round. Lennox Lewis, the last British boxer to be undisputed world champion in 1999, forecast before Saturday’s fight that Usyk would face a vastly-improved Dubois, saying: “Dubois was a baby in the sport and now he’s a man...You’re not going to see the same Daniel Dubois from 18 months ago.” But after Usyk was roared into the ring by a huge contingent of supporters, many of them waving Ukraine national flags in a 90,000 capacity crowd at Wembley, best known as the London base of England’s national football team, it was largely one-way traffic as their hero conducted a ruthless masterclass against local favorite Dubois. “38 is a young guy, remember!,” Usyk told DAZN in the ring after dropping to his knees in celebration. “38 is only start! “I want to say thank you to Jesus Christ.