Tony Bellew has claimed that the “real” Daniel Dubois “doesn’t want to fight”, after the British heavyweight was stopped by Oleksandr Usyk again on Saturday.
At Wembley, Usyk dropped Dubois twice in the fifth round, with the second knockdown proving decisive, as the Ukrainian regained the IBF title and retained his unified belts. With that, he became a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion.
The unbeaten Usyk also became a three-time undisputed champion overall, having previously reigned as the only undisputed cruiserweight king of the four-belt era. The 38-year-old in fact retained that status against Bellew in 2018, stopping the Liverpudlian.
Yet Bellew has now contrasted his loss to Usyk with Dubois’s two defeats by the southpaw, the first of which came in 2023 – when Usyk dropped “Dynamite” twice and stopped him with a powerful jab.
“Daniel Dubois is a brilliant fighter on the front foot, he’s what’s called a flat-track bully in boxing,” Bellew told Talksport on Monday (21 July). “When things are going his way and he’s landing punches, he’s an absolute nightmare for anybody, as we’ve seen in the AJ fight [Dubois’s stoppage of Anthony Joshua in September].
“But the minute you start to manoeuvre around him, make him miss a couple of times – and make him pay, by the way – he starts doubting himself, he starts feeling sorry for himself. And I’m sorry to use these words. This isn’t my opinion, guys; this is a fact.
“He starts looking for a way… and he just fell apart, guys, if I’m being totally honest. The first knockdown is a strong jab, that’s what the first knockdown is. And then the second knockdown, when it comes, I just feel he’s on the floor looking at the referee.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a heavy backhand over the top, and he’s on the floor and he’s a bit dazed at first, but by the time he gets to three or four, he’s clearly looking at the referee and he’s not getting up. It was a look of a fighter who’s like… I think the questions he needs to answer [are]: ‘Why am I doing this? Who am I doing this for and why am I doing it?’
“Because if he’s doing it for himself, believe you me, guys, he gets up. I got hit with the same shots off Usyk, and I was on my back flat, and on the count of six I was up on my feet. And thankfully for me, the referee stopped it and saved my life, because I wanted to carry on. I was flat on my back at the count of one, with my head relaxed on the bottom rope, but then I’m up at six. Watch the fight back and you’ll see. That’s the sign of a fighter who doesn’t care and just wants to carry on fighting. I couldn’t bear to stay down and stay on the floor.
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“What you’ve seen in Daniel on Saturday was a fighter who takes a really heavy shot, but doesn’t want to get up, guys […] When he gets into these really hard moments in fights, that’s when the real Daniel comes out – and the real Daniel doesn’t want to fight. I’m sorry to say that, and it sounds harsh and really bad, but that’s just the truth, guys. And I’m a massive fan of him.”
Usyk’s second win against Dubois extended his dominance over British fighters. As well as earning two stoppages of Dubois and one against Bellew, the Ukrainian holds two decision victories over Tyson Fury, two over Anthony Joshua, and one over Derek Chisora.
Four of those wins came on British soil no less, with the Olympic champion earning himself a reputation as a tremendous ‘away’ fighter. More importantly, Usyk has established himself as one of the greatest fighters of his generation, and perhaps one of the best of all time.