2025-07-19

Oleksandr Usyk stopped Daniel Dubois in the fifth round at Wembley Stadium to become a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion and reinforce his place among boxing’s elite.

The Ukrainian, now 38, produced a patient and punishing performance in front of 90,000 fans. Dubois started aggressively but could not hold Usyk off once the champion began timing his counters and moving through the gears. Usyk dropped the Briton twice in the fifth round, and when Dubois failed to beat the count after the second knockdown, the contest was over.

The win restored the IBF belt to Usyk and added it to the WBA Super, WBO and WBC titles he already held. It also extended his unbeaten professional record to 24 victories. For Dubois, the defeat was his third in 25 professional bouts, with each of his losses coming inside the distance.

The result has wider significance because it closes the book on another rematch in which Usyk used the lessons of the first fight to control the second. He had already stopped Dubois in 2023, and in London he again found ways to slip inside the challenger’s jab and punish him with cleaner, more accurate work. The BBC called it a masterclass, and that is not overstating what the Ukrainian delivered.

Dubois had come into the fight as a heavyweight with momentum of his own after beating Anthony Joshua to defend his IBF title in September. The target in London was to become the first Briton to unify the division in the four-belt era. Instead, Usyk turned the occasion into another demonstration of his adaptability and ring craft.

The build-up had included questions over Usyk’s age, but the fight showed little sign of decline. He remained sharp, composed and difficult to pin down, while Dubois struggled to turn early energy into lasting pressure. By the fifth round, the difference in class was visible. A right hand to the temple sent Dubois down, and a subsequent left hook sealed the result when the corner decided enough was enough.

The occasion drew notable boxing names to ringside, including Roy Jones Jr and Frank Bruno, underlining the scale of the event. Joseph Parker was also watching closely, and Usyk’s post-fight comments suggested he is not short of possible next opponents. He mentioned Tyson Fury, Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua and Parker as possible options, while saying he wanted to rest for a couple of months first.

Dubois, meanwhile, was left to rebuild again. His corner and the wider British boxing scene had hoped this rematch might confirm him as the man to dethrone Usyk and claim a defining victory on home soil. Instead, the loss deepens the impression that the Ukrainian still sits alone at the top of the heavyweight division.

For now, the key fact is simple: Usyk has beaten Dubois twice, beaten Joshua twice, and beaten Fury twice. At Wembley, he added another chapter to a career that is now shaping the modern heavyweight era.