The atmosphere was great as 90,000 souls packed Wembley like sinners at a sermon. They came for the storm, for the pain ballet, for heavyweight truth told in jabs and violence. What they got was Oleksandr Usyk—craftsman, killer, king—serving up a brutal, beautiful reminder that in this game of fists and myths, he is the master of ceremonies and executioner rolled into one.
Daniel Dubois had a plan. Maybe even a prayer. But prayers are for quiet nights and lost dogs. They don’t work when Usyk is standing across the ring, gloved and grinning like he knows something about your future you haven’t figured out yet.
A Fast Start, A Sudden End
To his credit, Dubois opened like a man who knew the noose was being lowered. He swung those overhand rights like he meant to put Usyk on notice—mean, meaty missiles that could’ve turned the tide against lesser men. It was everything he needed to do. It just wasn’t enough. Not against this man.
Usyk took the storm and turned it into jazz. Danced to the beat of violence and dictated every note. By Round 2, the rhythm was his. By Round 3, it was a symphony. And by Round 5, it was a eulogy.
The end came with the elegance of execution and the cruelty of a surgeon who’s lost patience. A right to the temple put Dubois on his knees, blinking, bleeding, wondering where the music went. He got up. But only long enough for Usyk to bury him with a sweeping left hook that looked like it was drawn by a demon’s compass.
Dubois dropped like a sack of bad decisions. He wasn’t getting up. Not tonight. Not from that.
The Numbers Tell a Story—But Not the Whole One
CompuBox Punch Stats:
-
Usyk: 57 landed of 153 (37.3%)
-
Dubois: 35 landed of 179 (19.6%)
-
Power Punches: Usyk 36/78 (46.2%) | Dubois 24/75 (32%)
Stats are clean. Cold. Clinical. They don’t capture the heartbeat. They don’t tell you how Usyk’s feet never stop whispering secrets to the canvas, how his angles appear like hallucinations. They don’t tell you how Dubois, 26 pounds heavier and 11 years younger, looked like a ship sinking in slow motion.
History Wears a Ukrainian Flag
Let’s get this straight: Oleksandr Usyk is the best heavyweight on Earth. Period. End of scroll. Three-time undisputed champion—once at cruiserweight, now twice at heavyweight—and undefeated in an era where egos are undefeated far more often than records.
He’s beaten Anthony Joshua. Twice. He outfoxed and outworked Tyson Fury. Twice. And now? He’s taken back the IBF title he once relinquished like a man reclaiming his throne after loaning it out for safekeeping.
Usyk has defended his belts five times. He’s 38 years old but moves like a featherweight cursed with heavyweight hands. When asked what’s next, he shrugged. Might be Fury again. Might be Parker. Might be Chisora. Hell, might be Joshua. He doesn’t care. Because Usyk is the kind of fighter who doesn’t chase legacy. Legacy chases him.
Dubois: Brave, Bloodied, Beaten
Daniel Dubois is no fraud. Since his first loss to Usyk in 2023, he’d rebuilt himself like a man trying to outrun his own shadow—knockout wins over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Joshua told that story. But the sequel rarely sings sweeter than the original.
He was better this time. Smarter. More patient. But you don’t beat Usyk by being a better version of yourself. You beat him by being something that doesn’t exist yet.
Dubois will come again. He’s 27. The road isn’t over. But the scars from tonight will travel with him, whispered reminders every time he slips a jab or hears a bell.
The Genius of Controlled Chaos
Usyk’s greatness isn’t just in the punches. It’s in the spaces between them. It’s the way he slips a hook like it’s someone else’s bad idea. The way he stares through opponents like he’s already seen the ending.
He doesn’t overpower. He undoes. Like water wearing down the rock. Like time with teeth. You don’t see the kill until it’s already happened.
Final Bell
When the left hook landed, Dubois crumpled like a love letter soaked in whiskey. Wembley went quiet for a moment—not in shock, but in reverence. The fight was over. The war was won. The crown wasn’t just Usyk’s. It still was.
And somewhere, perhaps, in the rafters of boxing history, old legends smiled. Because for all the noise, for all the self-promotion and split decisions and WBA alphabet soup, here was clarity. Here was proof.
Oleksandr Usyk, 38 years old, still writing symphonies with his fists. Still too good. Still too much.