Famed coach and analyst Teddy Atlas has weighed in on Oleksandr Usyk‘s upcoming rematch with Daniel Dubois.
Usyk became undisputed champion with his first win over Tyson Fury, though vacated the IBF title to honour the rematch and saw Dubois elevated to champion.
The Brit defended his belt with an emphatic stoppage of Anthony Joshua last year, and goes into this rematch with the Ukrainian, despite losing their first meeting by TKO, with a newfound confidence.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Atlas praised the younger champion and made it clear that facing him in 2025 is an entirely different prospect than years prior. However, the popular American ultimately lands on Usyk to do the double, refusing to back against a man who always ‘finds a way to win.’
“Dubois has found himself. He’s a different animal now. Anyone who thinks that it’s the same fight, they’re wrong. I can’t go against Usyk. I can’t. Because his greatest strength is he always finds a way to win, always. Olympic Gold, cruiserweights, unified heavyweights, goes to London, fights a bigger guy, beats him twice. Then he goes and fights Fury twice, beats him. The guy knows how to find a way to win. He’s special, but he’s getting older.”
The two heavyweight champions face off on July 19 at Wembley Stadium. Should Usyk win and remain undefeated, it is expected by many that this will be his final top level fight.
Atlas feels that the Ukrainian great should have hung up the gloves after his second Fury win, seemingly believing that, despite backing him to win, facing 27-year-old Dubois again presents more risk than reward.
