Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois Picks, Predictions, and Odds

Oleksandr Usyk will look to continue his dominance of the heavyweight division this weekend when he defends the IBF, IBO, WBA, and WBO heavyweight championships against Daniel Dubois. Usyk will get the opportunity to add the vacant The Ring heavyweight title to his waist with a victory, and he is listed as a heavy favorite per the boxing betting odds. Dubois is a worthy challenger with prodigious power, but many are asking questions of the 25-year-old as this is a big step up considering what we have seen over the past few years.

This title fight probably would be held in the Ukraine if Usyk’s native country wasn’t at war with Russia. Instead, it will take place at Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw, Poland on Saturday, August 26, at 5 p.m. ET. That start time means we probably won’t see an undercard in this bout as it correlates to 11 p.m. ET local time. This will be Usyk’s second fight in Poland, and he is looking to repeat the success he found the first time on Polish soil when he claimed his first major title (the WBO cruiserweight championship).

Celebrity Boxing Betting Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook

Oleksandr Usyk -1000
Daniel Dubois +600

Although Oleksandr Usyk was an extremely successful amateur fighter, not many people expected him to be this successful as a professional. Usyk was a late bloomer who didn’t have his first pro fight until he was 26 ½ years old, but he was dominant as an amateur between 2008 and 2012. In that time period, he won a European Championship, a World Championship, and then he topped that off with the coup de grace in London with the gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Usyk (20-0 with 13 knockouts) fought as a heavyweight when he was an amateur, but he quickly found out that he couldn’t add as much weight as others in the weight class, so he moved to cruiserweight when he turned pro. That was a wise decision as it allowed his power to shine. He knocked out each of his first nine opponents before he defeated Krzysztof Glowacki in Gdansk for the WBO cruiserweight title. Two convincing title defenses led to Usyk entering the World Boxing Super series with his title in 2017, and he unified the division by adding the IBF, WBA, WBC, and The Ring championships with victories over Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev.

After a single defense of the unified title, Usyk could not deny the allure of moving up to the heavyweight division where there is much more fame and fortune. He defeated Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora before taking on Anthony Joshua for the IBF, IBO, WBA, and WBO heavyweight belts in London in September 2021. Joshua was a sizeable favorite on the boxing betting line, but Usyk was clearly the better fighter and scored a unanimous decision victory (117-112, 116-112, 115-113). We saw a more prepared Joshua in a rematch in Saudi Arabia last August, but Usyk still won a majority decision that should have been a unanimous decision victory.

Knockout power is what has defined Daniel Dubois over the course of his career. Dubois (19-1 with 18 knockouts) has recorded all 18 of his knockouts inside of five rounds. That has led to a lot of hype surrounding DuBois, but he has had some shaky moments during the past few years. Joe Joyce became the first opponent to last more than five rounds against Dubois and ended up knocking out Dubois in the 10^th round.

Dubois was sidelined for quite a bit after that bout as he sustained a broken orbital bone and had nerve damage around his eye. Since that point, his confidence and aggression has seemingly diminished, and we saw a different fighter early on in his bout against Kevin Lerena. Dubois was knocked down three times in the first round of that bout, and while he recovered to win the fight just two rounds later, it has to put some measure of self-doubt in him.

Both fighters have a 78-inch reach, but Dubois will be two inches taller and have more weight on him. However, Usyk is a much better technical fighter and will use that to his edge here.

Play: Oleksandr Usyk to Win by Knockout Inside of Six Rounds