Oleksandr Usyk recently cemented himself as the best heavyweight of a generation having been on a run of wins against Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury.
The Ukrainian was formerly undisputed at cruiserweight before making the move up to heavyweight. He beat Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora before relieving Anthony Joshua of his unified world titles and keeping those belts in an immediate rematch.
Then came his fight with Dubois, which Usyk won in the ninth round by stoppage after a controversial fifth. The Brit looked to work the body and dropped the champion, however referee Luis Pabon immediately ruled the shot low and gave Usyk ample time to recover. Dubois failed to pounce on his man thereafter and withered until he was dropped twice himself and counted out.
His team has remained adamant he should have left Poland with the belts that night. Still, Dubois has rebounded well and picked up the vacant IBF title earlier this year. He knocked out Joshua in his first defence.
Meanwhile, Usyk became undisputed by beating Fury the first time. In their rematch, he retained three of the four major belts. With two wins over his closest competition, many now believe the 37-year-old should consider retirement. If it is up to Dubois, however, they will have their own rematch.
Though Dubois is on a run of three impressive stoppages – Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and ‘AJ’ – it is clear looking back that Usyk isn’t fazed by his power. In the ring after their bout, the Ukrainian was asked if he rated how hard the 27-year-old punches. He said:
“No, only in my balls.”
Many disagree with the sentiment, with plenty of sparring partners and opponents branding Dubois the biggest hitter in the division. Whether or not the two run it back remains to be seen, but Dubois first has a stern test in Joseph Parker on February 22.
