Usyk vs. Dubois 2: Usyk’s Pressure Plan

Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk hints that he’s going to be the one putting the pressure on IBF champion Daniel Dubois in their rematch on July 19th at Wembley Stadium in London.

Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) has heard the talk about how Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) is going to be attacking him all night, and he feels that he’s going to be the one doing the attacking in this fight. That’s what happened in their first fight two years ago in 2023.

Dubois Rematch Doubts

Early on, Dubois was confident, pressuring Usyk, landing occasional bombs on him. When Usyk began unloading on a tired-looking DDD in the eighth, he began crumbling. In the ninth, Daniel suddenly quit after taking several shots to the head from Usyk. Hence, the nickname a fan has given him, ‘Triple Knee.”

The real question about this fight isn’t the age of the 38-year-old Usyk and whether he can hold up under the pressure from Dubois. It’s more about whether DDD will mentally fall apart when Oleksandr begins putting it on him.

Although Dubois has shown that he can take punishment for a round pretty well, when it’s steady for two to three rounds, he folds.

It’s got to be worrisome for Dubois’ promoter because if he gives up again and gets knocked out by Usyk, he’ll be stuck with having to rebuild him a second time. It would be a lot tougher because this would be the third time that Dubois has quit in the fight, and fans will no longer believe in him.

Usyk’s Pressure Strategy

“Pressure doesn’t exist when you’re the one creating it,” said Usyk to Ring Magazine, talking about his rematch with Dubois.

“I’m ready to win. I’m ready to shock the world and take all the belts. I’m in a position in the division, and I’ve got new goals to set, new guys to knock out. I’ve got to start on the 19th by taking all the belts,” said Daniel Dubois to DAZN Boxing about his fight against unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.