The heavyweight boxing scene springs back into life on Saturday when Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois clash to become undisputed heavyweight champion at Wembley Stadium.
WBA, WBO and WBC champion Usyk, 38, is returning to the ring for the first time since December when he beat British fighter Tyson Fury for a second time in Riyadh.
The Ukrainian cemented his status as the greatest heavyweight of this generation when he inflicted another defeat on Fury when all three judges at the Kingdom Arena scored the fight 116-112.
That victory extended former undisputed world cruiserweight champion Usyk's unbeaten record to 23 fights (14KOs), with his heavyweight scalps also including two comprehensive wins over Anthony Joshua and a more controversial one against Dubois.
The latter victory in 2023 remains a bone of contention for London-born Dubois, who floored Usyk in the fifth round only for the referee to call a low blow.
The reigning champion was then given an extended period to recover, much to the frustration of Dubois' team at ringside, and would go on to drop his increasingly exhausted opponent in the eighth and ninth rounds before the fight was stopped.
The call was still being debated when the pair met for a press conference in April, ahead of the summer rematch.
Usyk arrived with several photographs of the controversial punch, which appeared to show it landing below the belt line, even asking his opponent to sign the images.
“It's disappointing me that you would stoop as low as bringing one of those photographs,” Dubois' coach Don Charles said.
“You should be given an Oscar for that performance. You conned the referee. You conned us. You conned the boxing world.” A smiling Usyk, replied: “You should teach your fighter to punch clean.”
Promoter Frank Warren, who represents Dubois, has said Usyk would find the Briton a very different prospect to the one he beat in their first encounter in Poland.
“Last time they fought Daniel the boy. This time they're fighting Daniel the man, and that's the difference and he'll find that out on Saturday,” Warren said.
“He [Usyk] is the best heavyweight of his generation, but everybody's the best until they get beaten and I think it's his time now.”
“I’m a different fighter now," agreed Dubois in an interview with The Guardian this week. "There have been real improvements. I’m doing things I’ve always done but I’m doing them better. Maybe I just want it more now."
Dubois has not fought since destroying former two-time world champion Joshua over five brutal rounds last September, in Riyadh Season's London debut.
In front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, Dubois secured the biggest win of his career as he dropped Joshua multiple times on the way to retaining his IBF belt.
Dubois, whose other defeat came against Joe Joyce, another Briton, in 2020, is confident that he is ready to make history by becoming the first man to beat Usyk and gain revenge for their previous bout.
“I have resurrected myself, resurrected my career and now we're on a roll,” Dubois, aiming to become Britain's first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999, told the BBC.
“Unstoppable, I feel like I can't be beat right now. I'm in the prime of my life and I'm going to go through whatever I have to do, We're here now, no more excuses.
“I've got to beat him this time and I am going to win. I am going to cause chaos, knockout, by any means possible. I am ready. Man, I'm ready 100 per cent.
“As soon as the bell rings my whole approach is to seek and destroy, bring chaos, get the victory and seize the moment.”
Former champion Fury, meanwhile, said earlier this month that he was ready to come out of retirement after calling time on his career following the latest Usyk loss.
The 36-year-old, whose last three fights have been in Saudi Arabia, was asked who his preferred comeback bout would be against.
“Who would I rather fight, right now? Usyk. Because I want my revenge in England,” he said.
“I don't believe I've got a fair shout the last two times. That's all I want. I want a fair shout, and I don't believe I've got a fair shout the last two times.
“That's the one I want, but if I don't get that then it'd be [Anthony] Joshua, the biggest British fight that will ever happen.”
Saudi Arabian boxing chief Turki Alalshikh also claimed that Fury had promised a return to action in 2026, albeit taking place in the kingdom once again.
On Wednesday, his promoter, Warren, said that Fury will not be fighting in 2025 but reiterated that revenge against Usyk was priority No 1.
“I spoke to him [Fury] over the weekend about boxing. He won't fight this year,” Warren told the 5 Live Boxing podcast.
“He's got this Netflix second series coming but he's in the gym. He's in it for his well-being, physically and mentally. It keeps him in a good place.”
