Unified 3-belt heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk will need to adapt with a rejuvenated and improved IBF champion Daniel Dubois in their rematch tonight for the undisputed championship at Wembley Stadium in London. The DAZN PPV main event is the shining gem on this card.
Results:
Solomon Dacres (10-1, 3 KOs) dominated the stiff, robotic, previously unbeaten Vladyslav Sirenko (22-1, 19 KOs), winning a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision in a heavyweight fight. Dacres was nailing the slow, hittable Sirendko throughout the fight. In the later rounds, Sirenko gassed out and was a sitting duck for the more energetic Dacres’ shots. What a mismatch.
The scores
99-91
98-92
99-92
Lasha Guruli (2-0, 1 KOs) out-slugged Britain’s James Francis (7-2, 1 KOs), stopping him in the fifth round in a light welterweight bout. Referee Amy Pu waved it off at 0:02 of round 5.
Aadam Hamed (6-0, 3 KOs) pitched a shutout, defeating journeyman Ezequiel Gregores (3-35) by a one-sided four-round decision in welterweight action. The score was 40-36.
*Note: Thus far, this undercard has been atrocious. It’s one of the worst I’ve seen on a PPV card. You’d have to date back to 2015 to find someone even poorer than this one. It’s unbelievable the fights that were packaged as support for the Usyk-Dubois 2 rematch. You could see the focus was on saving money. Surely, the promoters for this event could have found better fighters than this rag-tag bunch of scrubs on this expensive $60 PPV event.
Usyk is coming off two brutal 12-round fights with Tyson Fury. We don’t know how much those battles have taken out of the 38-year-old. If there is any wear and tear from those fights for Usyk, it’ll be difficult for him to withstand the pressure Dubois will put on him.
DAZN Live Broadcast Details
The Usyk-Dubois 2 DAZN broadcast even begins at 12:30 PM ET / 9:30 AM PT. The undercard starts at around 12:40 ET / 9:40 PT. The ringwalks for the headliner are approximately 4:45 pm ET / 1:45 pm PT. The pay-per-view price is similar to last weekend’s huge event at $59.99 in the United States. In the UK, the PPV price is £24.99
Usyk-Dubois 2 Fight Card
- Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois 2
- Lawrence Okolie vs. Kevin Lerena
- Daniel Lapin vs. Lewis Edmondson
- Vladyslav Sirenko vs. Solomon Dacres
- Aadam Hamed vs. Ezequiel Gregores
- Lasha Guruli vs. James Francis
Usyk will need to have fast feet and be careful to keep from getting caught by Dubois’ big shots in this fight. Daniel is coming into this fight 10 pounds heavier at 243 pounds compared to the 233 pounds that he weighed in their previous fight in 2023. That extra weight translates to increased punching power for DDD, making him even more dangerous.
Dubois Targets Usyk’s Body
Daniel has already said that his plan is to attack Usyk’s body. This area has proven to be Oleksandr’s Achilles’ heel since his amateur days. In their fight two years ago, Dubois hurt him with a punch that appeared legal but was ruled a low blow. Will Dubois’ aim be better tonight? It’s an area that Usyk has tried to strengthen with work on strengthening his midsection, but that may not help given how hard Dubois punches.