Daniel Dubois breaks silence on being KOd by | Boxing News

Daniel Dubois conceded that his efficiency fell short after his aspirations for undisputed heavyweight glory had been dashed by a fifth-round stoppage defeat at Wembley, courtesy of Oleksandr Usyk’s devastating punch. Usyk had beforehand demonstrated his superiority over the 27-year-old Londoner in a one-sided bout in Krakow in 2023, where Dubois was penalised for an unlawful low blow in the fifth spherical.

Despite warnings to Usyk during combat week that he would a “different” adversary this time, the Ukrainian once again proved too formidable for Dubois (now 22-3, 21KOs). The former undisputed cruiserweight champion dominated the first 4 rounds before delivering a masterful fifth-round end, solidifying his status as one of boxing’s best ever.

Dubois confirmed braveness as he rose from a highly effective right-handed knockdown, only to be despatched to the canvas seconds later by a thunderous left, marking his third skilled defeat.

This victory marked Usyk’s twenty fourth profession win and his seventh consecutive triumph over British fighters, permitting him to reclaim the IBF title and complement his WBA, WBO, and WBC belts, changing into a two-time undisputed champion in the heavyweight division.

Reflecting on the loss, Dubois said: “I have to commend him on his performance. I gave everything I had, probably a few things I could have sharpened up on, but take no credit away from the man. I was just fighting, I was in a fight and trying to pick up round by round.

“It is what it’s, but I’ll be back. I would like to thank everybody for popping out. I gave my best, we’ll go back to the drafting board and come again.”

Usyk later disclosed that the decisive blow wasn’t a left hook but rather a punch he and his team call “Ivan,” a technique honed by the 38-year-old who has consistently raised his game in rematches, as seen against Dubois’ fellow countrymen Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

“Listen, we put together for this combat with my workforce. We be taught from first combat, we’ve got a long time, two years, and we put together a mixture. You know the punch identify Ivan,” Usyk explained.

“Left hook? A hook is like this (gesture), that is Ivan. It is Ukrainian identify. Ivan is you understand a huge man, who lives in a village, he’s Kozak, you say, ‘what is your identify?’ And he says, ‘my identify is Ivan,’.

“Yeah, it is a hard, hard punch, Ivan. It is a long time. Maybe first time is 2018? Yeah, first time. It was USA in cruiserweight. Now I want to go back home, now I want to do a choice over what next. I will continue in boxing, I will continue in training, but now I cannot say who next.”

This newest triumph in the English capital provides to Usyk’s spectacular report, having secured Olympic gold at the London Games in 2012 and, 4 years in the past, capturing his initial world heavyweight titles with a factors win over Anthony Joshua at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Yet when requested if he considers himself one of the all-time greats, Usyk responded with a playful smirk: “Ha, no.

“For me, the UK is like a second home because this is where I’ve gained all my trophies. European (novice) champion (in Liverpool), London 2012, Tony Bellew, Dereck Chisora, Anthony Joshua, three-time undisputed Dubois, I’m very grateful for this nation.”

Queensberry promoter Frank Warren chimed in: “We witnessed one of the true modern-day legends tonight in motion.

“Oleksandr Usyk for me is a heavyweight in any generation that would be an outstanding fighter. I take my hat off to him in how he coped, how he showed such mental resilience in someone’s back yard, he is something special. He is a special fighter.

“Daniel is clearly very dissatisfied, he’s in the dressing room at the second but he’ll come back.”