Tony Bellew: “The real Dubois doesn’t want to fight”

Former world champion turned pundit Tony Bellew weighed in on Oleksandr Usyk’s victory over Daniel Dubois in their undisputed heavyweight title clash.

“Everything was clear from the first round, when Usyk landed that first stiff jab. Daniel Dubois is brilliant when the fight follows his script—when he’s landing, he’s a nightmare for anyone. We saw that against Joshua. But the moment you start circling him, make him miss a few times and punish him, he begins to doubt himself—he starts feeling sorry for himself.

And I hate saying this, lads, but it’s not opinion—it’s fact. This is the third time now. He starts looking for an exit. To be honest, he just falls apart. The first knockdown was from a hard jab. The second… look, he’s on the floor staring at the ref. Don’t get me wrong—it’s a heavy overhand, he went down and looked stunned at first. But by the count of three or four he’s staring straight at the referee and not even trying to rise.

That was the look of a fighter who… well, he needs to ask himself: Why am I doing this? For whom, and for what? If he’s doing it for himself—trust me, lads—he’d get up. I took the same shots from Usyk, ended up on my back, but by six I was on my feet. Thank God the ref stopped it—maybe saved my life—because I wanted to carry on.

What you saw from Dubois on Saturday was a boxer who ate a very heavy shot and chose not to get up. When the truly tough moments come, that’s when the real Daniel shows—and the real Daniel doesn’t want to fight,” Bellew said.

On 19 July Oleksandr Usyk (24‑0, 15 KOs) knocked out Daniel Dubois (22‑3, 21 KOs) in round five to claim the undisputed heavyweight crown (over 90.7 kg). Detailed statistics of the bout are available via the link.

Photo: Nile Post