Eddie Hearn is picking unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk by knockout over IBF champ Daniel Dubois in their rematch this Saturday at Wembley Stadium. Hearn predicts that Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) will get to Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) in the later rounds to score a stoppage in their 12-round undisputed championship fight on DAZN PPV.
Eddie isn’t counting Dubois completely out in the fight. He believes he has a puncher’s chance of winning if he can catch Usyk with a big shot. Dubois is always a threat, but he doubts that he’ll do this against the more skilled Usyk.
Hearn Analyzes Rematch Psychology
“Daniel showed great steel in the AJ fight. He’s mentally and physically in a good place. You’re never going to rattle Usyk,” said Eddie Hearn to the Stomping Grounds channel, previewing the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois 2 rematch on Saturday. “Probably the greatest person of our generation in terms of rattlers is Tyson Fury, and he couldn’t rattle him at all.”
The reason Dubois’s attempts at intimidation of Usyk failed yesterday during their face-off is that Oleksandr knows a fake when he sees one. Dubois doesn’t believe in himself.
“When you’ve got Dubois screaming in Usyk’s face, Usyk looked so cold. It lends me to favor him in this fight,” said Hearn. “Without all that yesterday, I’m always picking Usyk. I really think Dubois is a threat. He’s a huge puncher. He’s got great confidence.”
It doesn’t require Usyk to be confident to beat Dubois. His intelligence is more than enough to outwit Daniel, stay out of range of his big, slow, lumbering shots, and pick him apart until he quits. He lacks the ring IQ and the chin to handle the talent that Usyk possesses.
It’s admirable that Dubois has risen to the point he’s at, but a lot of that has to do with matchmaking. He’s been put in with the right guys during his career. He’d have well over five defeats if he were thrown in with the killers at heavyweight over the last four years.
I don’t know what it is, but a lot of the fighters from the UK don’t face enough world-level competition to show whether they’re actually good or not. When they do eventually face quality fighters outside of the UK, they get exposed. Dubois is a good example. He built a fluff record and then fell apart when he fought Usyk.
“When you saw Usyk in that situation yesterday, he was just so cold. It’s not just so cold. He’s just so good, and I think he’ll stop him. He’ll stop him late like last time, but maybe a little bit later. But Daniel is a threat in the fight, and I think he has a shot,” said Hearn.
Can Dubois Take a Punch?
Dubois has a glass chin, and it will fail him once Usyk begins hitting him with combinations in the later rounds. Even early on, Daniel could fall apart and either quit or succumb to the power of Usyk. As we saw in Dubois’ first fight with Usyk and his clash against former cruiserweight Kevin Lerena, he can’t take a punch. His chin is pure 100% glass, one of the weakest I’ve seen from a big heavyweight.
Father Time Can’t Stop Usyk
“We said the same thing when AJ boxed him,” said Hearn when asked if Dubois is the biggest threat to beating Usyk than anyone he’s faced. “In London. Usyk is getting on. A smaller guy, and then Fury in the second fight. Yes, at some point, sooner or later, Father Time gets you. I don’t think it’ll be on Saturday. It might not even be Father Time. If you get hit by Daniel Dubois, it’s a problem. It don’t matter how good you are,” said Hearn.
Not enough time has elapsed since Usyk’s impressive performance in his last fight against Tyson Fury to say that Father Time is going to get him in the rematch with Dubois on Saturday. If this were a fight taking place a couple of years down the line or if Oleksandr has been sitting inactive for a year, you’d have to give Daniel a heck of a shot at winning. That’s not the case, though.
Last Updated on 07/16/2025
Read the full article here