Rival heavyweights Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois were both in attendance at last night’s Ring Magazine Awards Gala, really an ‘Oscars for boxing.’ And the pair both went home with an award or two – Usyk The Fighter of the Year, Dubois having scored, according to “The Bible of Boxing,” The KO of the Year, this his shock KO of Anthony Joshua.
Nobody has any problems with the awards Usyk and Dubois got, with both of them clearly deserving of their respective trophies. However, Dubois still has a problem with the way he was, in his opinion, robbed of a body shot KO win when he fought Usyk in August of 2023.
The shot Dubois decked Usyk with was of course ruled a low blow, and Usyk, after being given time to recover, came on to halt Dubois in round nine. Still, Dubois and his supporters claim foul, and Dubois last night went as far as to say Usyk “got lucky” in the fight. This will not be the case in a rematch, the IBF heavyweight champ insists.
First up, Dubois has to get past Joseph Parker (who was also in attendance in London last night), and this is no sure thing. But if Dubois does keep hold of his belt, and if the soon to be 38 year old Usyk is sufficiently motivated, the rematch could prove to be a big fight in 2025 (Turki Alalshikh has it on his current five-fight wish-list).
Can Dubois beat Usyk in a rematch?
“I wouldn’t let him off the hook next time,” Dubois said. “He got away lucky last time. I need to right that wrong and get my revenge. But first things first is Joseph Parker, all eyes are on him.”
For his part, the always unruffled Usyk, who is having some quality down time as he relaxes after his big 2024, where he of course scored two impressive wins over Tyson Fury, has said again “no problem” to a return go with Dubois, 22-2(21). It seems, if Parker can beat Parker, a return between he and Usyk is a fight that would certainly sell; the whole ‘did Dubois score a legit knockdown?’ storyline perhaps enough to add major intrigue to a return duel.
If Usyk doesn’t fight Dubois next, or maybe Parker if Parker takes the IBF belt on February 22, then who else is out there for Usyk? A win over the February 22 winner would see Usyk, 23-0(14) become a two-time four-belt heavyweight king. Quite an achievement. And maybe the desire to make a little more history will provide Usyk with enough motivation to stick around for another six to eight months or so.
