Daniel Dubois was attempting to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion at Wembley when he took on Oleksandr Usyk for the second time
Oleksandr Usyk destroyed Daniel Dubois inside five rounds to leave no doubt as to his standing among the heavyweight greats.
Usyk dominated from the opening bell as Dubois struggled to solve the puzzle in front of him. And he came unstuck in the fifth round when Usyk dropped him with a right hook. Dubois recovered sufficiently to beat the count but he was flattened again seconds later from Usyk’s other hand – and this time there was no getting up.
“Thirty eight is a young guy, remember… 38 is only the start.” Usyk said. “This is for the people, it’s for our world’s people. This is enough. Next? I don’t know. I want to rest. I want to go back home to my wife, my family.”
Pushed on who he could fight next, Usyk added: “Maybe Tyson Fury. Maybe Derek Chisora. Maybe Anthony Joshua. Maybe Joseph Parker.”
Dubois, meanwhile, vowed to return after suffering his third career defeat. “I have to commend him, I gave everything I had,” he said. “There we some things I could have sharpened up on, but I’ll be back. I was in a fight, I was trying to pick it round by round, but it is what it is, I’ll be back.”
Dubois had rebuilt his career following his stoppage defeat by Usyk in Poland almost two years ago. The Brit was convinced he dropped his rival in the fifth round but the referee ruled the shot low, and Usyk went on to close the show.
But impressive stoppage victories over Jarrell Miller and Fillip Hrgovic saw Dubois crowned world champion before he destroyed former ruler Anthony Joshua inside five rounds at the national stadium. A fight with Joseph Parker was then postponed two days before the first bell when Dubois fell ill in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk, meanwhile, became the undisputed heavyweight world champion by beating Tyson Fury last May before being forced to give up one of his four belts. He defeated Fury again at Christmas to set himself up for a second meeting with Dubois.
The Londoner’s slow march to the ring was preceded by a performance by a trio of flamethrowers. Dressed all in black, Dubois bounced up and down in the ring as Usyk ambled towards the Wembley ring for the first time in his career to a huge ovation.
Usyk prayed silently as the final announcements were made while Dubois continued to burn off his nervous energy. Usyk has been accused of being a slow starter but was quick off the mark with his right hand. Dubois responded with the same shot as he looked to pin Usyk against the ropes.
Dubois knew his best chance of victory was in the opening rounds but Usyk was proving his usual elusive self. And a left hand from the visitor in the second session was his best of the fight.
A clubbing right hand from Dubois earned a nod of appreciation from Usyk at the start of the third round but the Ukrainian responded with a clipping one of his own when Dubois left his chin hanging out in the humid Wembley night air.
Usyk edged the fourth session before a devastating fifth saw him put Dubois down twice, the second of which saw the Brit with no chance of recovering.
On the undercard, Lawrence Okolie extended his unbeaten run at heavyweight to three with a laboured win over Kevin Lerena. Lewis Edmondson dropped a decision to Team Usyk’s Daniel Lapin as he suffered the first defeat of his career. Earlier, heavyweight Solomon Dacres put his career back on track with a points win over the previously-unbeaten Vladyslav Sirenko.