Commentator Johnny Nelson believes unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk may stop IBF champ Daniel Dubois in their rematch next month on July 19th at Wembley Stadium in London. Nelson says Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) will get to the chin of Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs), and take him out with an “accumulation” of shots to knock him out.
Usyk vs. Dubois Rematch: July 19th Preview
That’s how Usyk knocked out Dubois in their first fight in 2023 in Wroclaw, Poland. He landed a series of hard shots in the ninth round, causing Dubois to hit the canvas and quit. If he does defeat Dubois again, this needs to be the end. There shouldn’t be a third fight because it would be a joke to keep putting them together.
Dubois, 27, has a three-fight winning streak, beating Anthony Joshua, Filip Hrgovic, and Jarrell Miller. However, none of those fighters are in the same league as Usyk in terms of talent.
Usyk’s “Accumulation” Strategy Against Dubois
“I do believe Usyk could possibly stop Daniel, and it won’t be with one shot. It’ll be an accumulation of simple pressure on Daniel,” said Johnny Nelson to Ring Magazine, predicting a victory for Oleksandr Usyk in his rematch with Daniel Dubois on July 19th.
Usyk stopped Dubois last time they fought. So, it makes sense that he’ll do it again in the rematch, because Daniel has a glass jaw. It doesn’t take much for Dubois’ opponents to put him down, as we saw in his fights against Usyk, Kevin Lerena, and Joe Joyce. The mandible is weak.
Dubois’s only chance in this fight is to get to Usyk early, because if it goes past five rounds, he’s going to tire out and get knocked out. Usyk was an excellent puncher when he fought at cruiserweight. The power that he showed in that division is more than enough to knock out weak-chinned fighters at heavyweight, like Dubois.
Dubois’ Power Useless Against Usyk’s Skill
“Daniel is the stronger of the two, but Usyk has been in with a lot of people who were stronger, but he’s been able to negate what advantages they had,” said Nelson. “Knowledge is power. Usyk knows what Dubois is about. Usyk has shown that he can think and change the direction of a fight. He proved that in the [previous] fight [against Dubois in 2023].”
Dubois’s ability to exploit his power is the real problem. If he can’t land his shots on Usyk, he’s not going to be able to utilize his strength and size. He’s going to be a big lump.
“He knew how to milk the situation. He knew how to play the game, find himself a little time, and come back and beat Daniel up,” said Nelson.
Usyk wasn’t trying to game the system by letting the referee know a low blow from Dubois had hit him. He was hit low. There was no faking involved. If Dubois had landed the punch a little bit higher up, he might have won the fight. Of course, if it had hit Oleksandr in the midsection, he probably would have taken it and continued fighting.
Last Updated on 06/17/2025
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