For the second time in his career, Oleksandr Usyk of Simferopol, Ukraine is the undisputed heavyweight champion. On Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London, England, Usyk knocked out Daniel Dubois of London, at 1:52 of the fifth round. As a result, he retained the WBA Super Heavyweight title, the WBC, IBO, WBO, and Ring Heavyweight Titles, and won the IBF Heavyweight Title.
Why did Usyk not hold the IBF Heavyweight title?
Usyk was not the International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion because he opted for a rematch against Tyson Fury of Manchester, England rather than fighting Dubois, who was the mandatory IBF heavyweight challenger. Dubois won the vacant interim IBF heavyweight title on June 1, 2024, when he knocked out Filip Hrgovic of Zagreb, Croatia via a knockout at the 57 second mark of the eighth round at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Dubois then retained the IBF heavyweight title on September 21, 2024 at Wembley Stadium. Dubois knocked out fellow Englishman Anthony Joshua of Watford, England at the 59 second mark of the 12th round.
Build up to Saturday’s fight
Usyk agreed to fight Dubois on March 12, 2025. This was the second time that Usyk would have fought Dubois. The first time came on August 26, 2023 at Wroclaw Stadium in Warsaw, Poland. Usyk improved to a record of 21 wins and zero losses by knocking out Dubois at 1:48 of the ninth round. Usyk was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the time and he retained his titles. For Dubois, it was only his second career loss. Dubois’s only prior defeat came on November 28, 2020 when he was knocked out at the 36 second mark of the 10th round by British boxer Joe Joyce of London in London’s Church House.
Usyk remains undefeated
Usyk remains undefeated at 24 wins and zero losses. Of his 24 professional bouts, he has won 15 times via a knockout and nine times via a decision. Usyk also won the gold medal at the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the 2012 Olympic Games in London at the heavyweight level.
Notable losses as an amateur
It should be noted that Usyk was not perfect as an amateur. Prior to turning professional in 2013, he lost to Matvey Korobov of Russia in the semifinals of the middleweight division at the 2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the heavyweight final to Osmay Acosta of Cuba at the 2008 Boxing World Cup in Moscow, Russia, the heavyweight final to Viktor Zuyev of Belarus at the 2008 AIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Resto degli Abruzzi-Pescara, Italy, and the semifinal to Egor Mekhontsev of Russia at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Milan, Italy.
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