Usyk-Dubois revenge is a waste of time. Don’t underestimate Warren’s weight and drive though, and the Fury factor

Passions after the battle between Usyk and Dubois, which ended in an early victory for the Ukrainian, seem to be heating up. Daniel Dubois, his promoter Frank Warren, his coach Don Charles, several well-known active and retired boxers are talking about the need for a rematch with Alexander Usyk. Many go even further, claiming that the referee stole the victory from Dubois, who considered a clean blow to the stomach of Usyk in the fifth round as a low blow and, instead of opening the score, gave the Ukrainian time to recover. Experts will have to assess how “clean” or “dirty” the blow of the Briton was, unless, of course, Warren realizes his intentions and applies to the WBA with a request to recognize the result of the Usyk-Dubois fight as invalid.

Strange, because an experienced promoter must understand: a rematch with Usyk will definitely be a waste of time for Dubois. Yes, it is possible that the re-fight Usyk – Dubois will turn out to be profitable to “sell”. But this fight is unlikely to make sense from a sporting point of view: the boxers just have different levels. Let’s try to figure it out.

Judges Notes

The Usyk-Dubois fight was stopped in the ninth round. At the time of the stop, Alexander outplayed the Briton, which, by the way, was also seen by the judges. Two ringside referees gave Usyk seven rounds out of eight, one gave six. In other words, Dubois only needed a knockout in the remaining four rounds to count on a victory. Judging by the way the battle developed, there was no chance of that.

Hit stats

In each of eight and a half rounds, Usyk landed more accurate shots than Dubois. In six of nine and a half rounds, Usyk threw more punches than Dubois (the fifth is also included in the top three “rounds of the British”). The Ukrainian had an absolute advantage in the number of accurate hits – 88 versus 47. In each round, the number of successful hits by Alexander was higher than that of Daniel.

Tactics

Usyk outplayed his opponent again. Once again, statements that “I know how to stop a Ukrainian” remained just statements. If Dubois relied on power punches to the body, then he simply did not deliver them (for that ill-fated in the fifth round, we will talk below). If it’s about footwork and speed, then in these components he began to lose rounds from the fourth. If on power, then Usyk calmly coped with the opponent’s clinches, and sweeping blows brought Dubois more harm than minimal benefit – he lost energy and oxygen too quickly.

Even a blow to the groin, Daniel failed to “take advantage”: the Ukrainian not only got the round, but also became significantly more active, trying to punish Daniel for the trick. The next few rounds, which took place under the dictation of Usyk, seemed to simply “kill” the Briton. And Plan B, which everyone likes to talk about, was not in his arsenal.

Form

Usyk is a phenomenon. But even knowing this, it was amazing to see how the 36-year-old boxer surpasses his 25-year-old counterpart in physical fitness. Speed, speed of reaction, “even breathing”, endurance – in all these components, Usyk was better than Dubois. And it’s really impressive.

Character

Dubois looked dejected even at the pre-fight press events. Yes, Daniel entered the ring kind of relaxed, but in the end he was squeezed and constrained. In principle, this happens to many of Usyk’s rivals. Another thing is that having started to miss jabs from the first rounds, and from the second or third – and power punches (Usyk really “turned on” after the equator), Dubois simply wilted. If he had a fuse, he quickly faded away. Knockdown and knockout are clear evidence of this. It seemed that neither in the first nor in the second case, the Briton was not shocked, he simply surrendered, realizing the futility of resistance.

And Usyk once again demonstrated the will to win and fortitude. And it’s not even about the fact that Alexander did not break down from the most powerful blow to the groin, but about how the Ukrainian boldly went into felling and exchanges, which were considered precisely Dubois’ strong point, and calmly interrupted the Briton. These moments were another factor that broke Daniel.

Experience

The impression was that Usyk got angry after the blow received in the groin. But rather quickly he pulled himself together, returned to smart boxing and calmly brought the fight to victory. Dubois was never able to control his nerves or emotions.

If we talk about the most controversial episode, even before him, the Ukrainian showed the referee several times that the Briton was hitting too low. And already being on the floor and having received a signal from the judge that there would be no countdown, Usyk simply took advantage of the moment for a complete or almost complete recovery. It seems that if the judge had started the report, the Ukrainian would have risen before it ended. And yes, this is also the experience and understanding of boxing.

prospects

It is still difficult to judge how events will develop from a bureaucratic point of view. Warren is an influential figure in the boxing world and may well lobby for the right decision for himself and his boxer. It is hard to believe in this, but in the current professional boxing everything is possible.

Another thing is that from a sporting point of view, revenge does not make sense. Daniel outright lost to Alexander and is unlikely to get better for the next fight. But there is one point that adds spice and intrigue to all this promotional fuss: Warren also has Tyson Fury as his wards, and Frank himself said that he would defeat the Usyk-Dubois fight in a duel with the Gypsy King early next year. And while it is difficult to say what the manager and Fury will come up with.