Huge heavyweight title action takes place in Poland this weekend, as Oleksandr Usyk makes his second defence of the WBA, WBO, IBO, and IBF titles against British challenger Daniel Dubois.
All eyes will be on the Ukrainian, as he looks to successfully defend the gold before talks can re-open surrounding a unification bout in the heavyweight division against Tyson Fury.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois Odds
Usyk comes into his second title defence as the clear favourite in the betting. The reigning champion is available at 1/12 on the two-way betting, and is a 1/10 chance on the BetXchange odds in the three-way odds.
In the latter market, the draw is available at a huge 25/1. Daniel Dubois could be a challenging rival for Usyk, but is slightly overlooked in the betting, as the Brit is priced up at 5/1 on both betting markets available for the fight.
Usyk Looking To Set Unification Date
It feels as though it has been a long time since we have seen Usyk in action, as he hasn’t defended his titles since a split decision win over Anthony Joshua in August 2022. Usyk certainly had the former champion’s number on that night, as he landed a second win over his rival in 12 months.
The Ukrainian was asked more questions in that rematch, but he still looked comfortable throughout against AJ, with the win also seeing him pick up the vacant Ring heavyweight title. After that win, there was an expectation that a unification bout between Usyk and Fury would be set, with talks between the camp ongoing for months.
However, there was certainly more interest from the Usyk camp to get the deal over the line, as the reigning champion agreed to a 70-30 purse split as long as Fury would donate a further $1 million to Ukraine. However, an agreement wasn’t reached, which meant Usyk was forced to take on his mandatory challenger this weekend.
Dubois Could Upset The Odds
The odds don’t seem to give Daniel Dubois much of a chance this weekend, but the 25-year-old is more than capable of producing a huge performance in Poland this weekend. Dubois held national heavyweight championships at international and national level, and opted to turn professional at an early stage.
DDD has been in excellent form throughout his career in the ring, landing 19 wins from 20 bouts. In total, 18 of his victories have been recorded by KO. His only career defeat was suffered in dramatic fashion in November 2020, as he was shockingly beaten by Joe Joyce.
However, he responded to that setback by winning the WBA interim title in June, before landing dominant knockout victories against Trevor Bryan and Kevin Lerena to win and then retain the WBA (regular) title.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois Prediction
The odds are interesting for this bout on Saturday. While we fully expect Usyk to maintain his perfect record, we expect a closer fight than the prices suggest. Dubois will ask much more serious questions of the champion than were posed against Joshua, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Brit score a knockdown. But, we will side with the Ukrainian landing victory on points.
