Tony Bellew has no doubts about who will win the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois.
These two heavyweights first fought back in August 2023. Dubois was less well established in the banner division, and despite having Usyk down with a body shot, which was ruled low, he was stopped in the 9th round.
Since then, he has been on a fine run that has seen him stop Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua to become the IBF champion, while Usyk beat Tyson Fury to become the undisputed ruler, then vacated one belt and beat him again in the rematch.
In July, the pair face off again in what will be another undisputed showdown.
Speaking on talkSPORT Boxing, Bellew assessed Dubois’s chances in the contest.
“Dubois knows himself how hard, how tough it is. I believe the first fight, he just, he’d had enough, and he quit, so it is what it is. You can make as much or as little of it as you want.
I think Daniel Dubois is now coming to a different stage in his career where he’s understanding what can be done, and what’s at stake. He’s shown he can overcome difficult times in fights now. The victory over Anthony Joshua is going to propel his confidence levels to an all-time high. So I think he’s well in this fight, I think he’s a super dangerous challenger.”
However, when it came to a prediction, Bellew sided with the man who beat him
“[Dubois will] go into it with a lot of belief, but I believe that belief will get shrunk. As the rounds pass, and as the shots start getting landed on him, the questions start getting asked again. Oleksandr Usyk will be victorious.”
The winner of the contest will soon have to turn their mind to mandatories, with the WBO’s Joseph Parker, IBF man Derek Chisora and number one ranked Agit Kabayal all waiting for their shot.
