Boxing

Daniel Dubois Pushes Oleksandr Usyk During First Face-Off Ahead Of Rematch

Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Duboi set for a rematch for the undisputed heavyweight title on July 19th, at Wembley Stadium.
Johan Alyas Blanco|
IMAGO / Newspix

Tensions are already boiling over between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois ahead of their highly anticipated rematch for the undisputed heavyweight title.

Today, Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) pushed Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) during their first face-off at Wembley Stadium, which is the venue where the rematch will take place. The heated altercation nearly came to blows before security stepped in.

The pair were at the historic venue posing for photos when the Englishman shoved the unified champion in the chest.

As first reported by Ring Magazine's Mike Coppinger, Usyk and Dubois are set to fight for the second time on July 19th. The undefeated Ukrainian boxer currently holds the WBC, WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles, while the Englishman is the current IBF champion.

It was originally planned for July 12th, which is the same day as the card featuring Edgar Berlanga-Hamzah Sheeraz and Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda in New York.

Usyk won the first bout in Aug. 2023, knocking out "Dynamite" in the 9th round. Since suffering his second career loss, the 27-year-old has stopped his last three opponents, most recently winning the IBF title, with a 5th round knockout of Anthony Joshua back in Sept. 2024.

Dubois will step into the ring for the first time this year. "Dynamite" was scheduled to face Joseph Parker in Feb. in Riyadh before the fight was cancelled due to the champion falling ill on fight week.

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The 38-year-old Usyk is coming off a historic 2024, beating Tyson Fury in two hard-fought bouts. The first fight happened on May 8th, 2024, with Usyk winning by split decision and capturing the undisputed heavyweight titles. With that win he became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis back in 1999.

Prior to the rematch against Fury, Usyk vacated the IBF belt, allowing Joshua vs. Dubois to be contested for the vacated strap. On Dec. 21st, Usyk beating Fury for the second time by unanimous decision, retaining the unfied titles.

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Johan Alyas Blanco
JOHAN ALYAS BLANCO

Johan Alyas Blanco is a writer for KO On SI. Before joining in March 2025, he worked as a News Producer in Tallahassee and Orlando. He also works for several fight promotions in boxing and MMA, working on social media content. When he’s not writing, Alyas covers boxing on his own YouTube channel, The Split Decision. Blanco has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from UCF, with a minor in sports business management. Alyas has interviewed several big names in combat sports, including Jorge Masvidal, Edgar Berlanga and Brian Norman Jr. His goal is to bring boxing back to prominence.

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