But the win for Usyk has since gone down as one of his most controversial victories to date, having dropped to the floor following a ‘clean body shot’ from Dubois that was ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon. The pair’s last bout took place in August last year, with Dubois falling short via knockout of the win in the ninth round. Calling for a rematch of their first meeting – which ended on controversial terms – Dubois declared he was robbed and ready to prove his power over Usyk in the ring. After Usyk beat Tyson Fury on points in December – replicating his May result against the “Gypsy King” – Dubois entered the ring to confront the Ukrainian, 38. Dubois caught Usyk in the abdomen with what was deemed a low blow in the fifth round, forcing a lengthy delay and causing the champion immense discomfort.

Mexican superstar and pound-for-pound great Canelo Álvarez defends his undisputed super middleweight world titles against hard-hitting undisputed junior middleweight world champion Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas. Mexican superstars will go toe-to-toe as pound-for-pound great Canelo Álvarez puts his undisputed super middleweight world title on the line against unbeaten all-action former world champion Jaime Munguía. One of the most anticipated boxing events of 2025 takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as Artur Beterbiev puts his undisputed light heavyweight championship on the line in a rematch with former champ Dmitry Bivol.

Usyk v Fury 2

Brace yourselves for an electrifying night featuring boxing legend Manny Pacquiao who steps into the RIZIN ring to face kickboxing sensation Rukiya Anpo. Tim Tszyu makes his highly anticipated return to the ring as he looks to push himself back into world title contention against Joey Spencer. The pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue will defend his undisputed junior featherweight world title against San Antonio native Ramon Cardenas in Las Vegas. Matchroom Boxing returns to New York City in style, as IBF super lightweight champion Richardson usyk vs dubois Hitchins attempts to make a first defence of his crown against Australia’s George Kambosos Jr. A stacked fight card is headed to the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York, with Edgar Berlanga returning to face the dangerous Hamzah Sheeraz.

Oleksandr Usyk retains heavyweight boxing titles as Daniel Dubois claims he was ‘cheated out of victory’

Former unified world champion George Kambosos and Ukrainian boxing legend Vasiliy Lomachenko will clash for the vacant IBF lightweight world title at RAC Arena in Perth. Paul Gallen will look to put the nail in the coffin in his feud with former Origin opponent Justin Hodges in what shapes up to be an explosive end to Gal’s boxing career. Five-time world champion and boxing superstar Gervonta “Tank” Davis returns to his native DMV area to face undefeated world champion Héctor Luis García in a high-stakes showdown. Usyk, holding the regular WBO belt, may therefore be ordered to fight Saturday’s winner next. While Usyk has been linked to IBF champion Dubois, whom he stopped in 2023, the Ukrainian has been ordered to defend his titles against Joseph Parker. Furthermore, Dubois’s mandatory challenger is Derek Chisora, according to Dubois’s promoter Frank Warren.

• The pair’s last bout took place in August last year, with Dubois falling short via knockout of the win in the ninth round.
• Bitter rivals Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr return to Manchester’s AO Arena in a high stakes rematch.
• Super-bantamweight Sam Goodman hopes to continue his run for a world title shot when he faces Mark Schleibs.
• Former WBC heavyweight world champion and boxing superstar Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder makes his long-awaited return to the ring to battle top-rated Robert “The Nordic Nightmare” Helenius.
• Joy Joyce will defend his WBO Interim World Heavyweight title for the first time against the Chinese giant Zhilei Zhang at Copper Box Arena.

Ryan Garcia makes his highly anticipated return to the ring to face Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero for the vacant WBA World Welterweight title in a stacked fight card in Times Square, New York. Fury has a non-title bout with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia in October. IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois is hungry to get back in the ring against Oleksandr Usyk, demanding the undisputed champion face him in a rematch. The winner of Dubois vs Parker was expected to fight unified champion Usyk next, with Dubois making clear his desire to exact revenge on the Ukrainian.