Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois may be set for a rematch in 2025.
Usyk beat Dubois back in August 2023 to retain his world heavyweight titles, in a fight that was seen by some as extremely controversial.
Dubois thought he had dropped his opponent early in the fight with a body shot, but it was deemed to be a low blow, which some observers disagreed with.
Usyk recovered and went on to win by ninth round stoppage, but Dubois maintains to this day that he feels he was wrongfully denied the victory.
‘DDD’ has bounced back in fantastic style since that loss, beginning with stoppage wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic, the latter of which earned him the IBF interim heavyweight title.
He was then elevated to full champion, and made the first defence of that belt with a sensational fifth round knockout win over Anthony Joshua in September.
Usyk meanwhile has also continued his success, defeating Tyson Fury in May to become undisputed heavyweight champion, before then winning the rematch in December to retain the WBC, WBA and WBO titles after relinquishing the IBF.
Dubois was quick to jump in the ring and call out Usyk after the latest win over Fury, with the Ukrainian seemingly open to another clash with ‘DDD.’
Another heavyweight that has enjoyed recent success is Zhilei Zhang, having claimed two stoppage wins over Joe Joyce and a huge knockout victory against Deontay Wilder over the past 18 months.
Zhang has now had his say on how a potential Usyk vs. Dubois rematch would go, telling Seconds Out that he feels it would go the same way as the first fight.
“I think this past one year or two is very fruitful year for Dubois. He made a lot of progress, but in front of Usyk I don’t think he’ll be fighting very effective against Usyk.”
Before Dubois can think about a rematch with Usyk, he first must defend his world title against Joseph Parker in February.
Parker beat Zhang in March 2024 in order to secure the fight with Dubois, and the hard-hitting Chinese heavyweight has revealed if he thinks the New Zealander can become world champion.
