What is next for Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois?
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what next for Usyk and what this result means for the blue-riband division.
Where does this leave Dubois?
Briton's Dubois is back in familiar territory and required to rebuild his career. The 27-year-old has managed it twice before after his shock loss to Joe Joyce in 2020 and his first defeat to Usyk two years ago. Frank Warren confirmed his fighter will not return for at least six months and a domestic affair with the likes of Derek Chisora or Dillian Whyte seems most likely at this point.
So, who is next for Usyk?
Usyk proceeded to namecheck Chisora, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker in the ring immediately as potential opponents after Saturday's 24th victory of his undefeated professional career. The WBO has already implied that Usyk must next defend that belt against Parker. If Usyk, who has suggested his next fight would be his last, was to prefer a trilogy with Fury, he would have to vacate his WBO title and lose undisputed status again.
Is Fury ready for another shot at Usyk?
Tyson Fury wants to face Oleksandr Usyk for a third time (Martin Rickett/PA)
Fury wasted no time calling out Usyk after his victory as the 'Gypsy King' posted an Instagram video in the early hours of Sunday morning on a run. Fury retired after he lost to Usyk for a second time last December, but maintains he won those bouts and has already revealed he will return to the ring in 2026. Queensberry promoter Warren says Fury would love to fight Usyk at Wembley so it is all eyes on what the Ukrainian decides.
No Fury vs AJ then?
🇬🇧⚔️ Oleksandr Usyk is now 8-0 against UK fighters:
✅ Tony Bellew✅ Derek Chisora✅ Anthony Joshua (x2)✅ Tyson Fury (x2)✅ Daniel Dubois (x2) pic.twitter.com/XWLZT2uCuX
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) July 19, 2025
If Usyk does decide to fight Parker next, it would open the door for a long overdue Battle of Britain between Fury and Joshua. Whilst the duo no longer boast the status as world heavyweight champion, it is a contest that would draw huge interest and comfortably sell-out at Wembley. Joshua has been linked with a fight against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, but the best way to add to his legacy would be to take on compatriot Fury – even if it should have happened years earlier.
Best of the rest
One of the next eye-catching fights in the division will see highly-rated Moses Itauma do battle with journeyman Whyte on August 16. Itauma, a 20-year-old southpaw, has 10 knock-outs from 12 wins and is widely regarded as the future of heavyweight boxing. Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh called for Itauma to fight Usyk on Saturday night. It feels too early for Itauma, but he is an option for Usyk along with Germany's Agit Kabayel, who is WBC mandatory, and WBA Regular champion Kubrat Pulev.
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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Brexit makes Scottish players too expensive for Scottish clubs
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Of the 87 transfer acquisitions made by teams in the SPFL Premiership so far this window, just 22 – or 25% - are eligible to play for Scotland's under-21 or senior national teams. As recently as season 2021/22 45% of the players who started games in the top flight were Scots born. Last season that figure dropped to 31.46%. The situation is grimmer still for players in the key transition ages between 16 and 21. Last season just 3.23% of those who started games in the top league were under the age of 21. Aberdeen and [[Celtic]] failed to start a single Scot in that age group. Ask club officials why they're signing so many players from overseas and one explanation rears its head repeatedly. Brexit has priced them out of signing footballers on their own doorstep. When Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016 new immigration rules made it harder and more expensive for English clubs to sign players from countries like France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Unfettered access to players from the EU disappeared overnight. To play in London, Manchester or Newcastle players from Europe would be required to secure a Governing Body Exemption, based on a points-based system which takes international caps, league ranking and the transfer fee into account. Plenty sail through unchallenged. Yet for clubs in the EPL and Championship the process is harder than it used to be. The days of stockpiling under 18 players from overseas for the rainy day which never comes are over. And one of the few markets where they can still sign who they like is Scotland. Read more: Stephen McGowan: Are Celtic doing enough to keep Brendan Rodgers? Stephen McGowan: Infantino's latest vanity project is ridiculous – enough is enough Scouts from English teams always kept an eye on the best one or two players in academies. Post Brexit they're looking at players three, four and five as well. For Scottish clubs life is now a constant battle to stop good players being lured away by predators with deep pockets. It's a fight they can't win. This week 16-year-old Callan Hamill left St [[Johnstone]] for Arsenal. Since Brexit Charlie McArthur, Rory Wilson, Daniel Kelly, Daniel Cummings, Karamoko Dembele, Rocco Vata, Ethan Laidlaw and Callum McKenna have been persuaded to exchange the chance of playing in their homeland for a hefty pay packet. If it was hard enough to match the financial expectations of players offered a move south before then the shrinking labour pool created by Brexit has only made things worse. As soon as English teams started wrapping themselves around Scotland's best prospects like Japanese knotweed wages surged. Agents know they can get six or seven grand a week for their client from the likes of Luton Town, Wycombe Wanderers, MK Dons or Salford City. Outwith [[Celtic]] and Rangers, clubs in the top six of the SPFL Premiership can't compete with that. The only advantage SPFL sides retain is a Governing Body Exemptions system a good deal more lenient than it is down south. There's no points system up here and that's one of the reasons why they're flooding their squads with cut-price foreign imports. Priced out of deals for players in their own back yard recruitment chiefs fill their squads with players from Australia, Slovakia and Burkina Faso instead. They've more chance of being knocked back by the local loan shark than they have of failing to land a GBE for a journeyman from Jakarta. So long as their team is winning supporters don't especially care where their players are born. Remember that when a national team short of quality goalkeepers, central defenders, left-sided attackers and goalscoring attackers fails to qualify for next summer's World Cup finals. They'll have plenty to say on the subject then. Scotland players don't just fall from the sky. The SFA can't shake a magic tree and expect world-class footballers to tumble down like coconuts. They need to be nurtured and coached and provided with a route to a first team they can't access because a) they grabbed the big money on offer from England and disappeared or b) they stayed put and found the pathway blocked by overseas jersey fillers. Last week brought confirmation of the first co-operation agreements between teams in the Scottish Premiership and lower league partners. Young players in the key transition age group of 16-21 will go out in search of competitive games before returning to their parent club and challenging for a place in the first team. While the SFA are duty bound to try something to help Scotland managers of the future, there's a nagging suspicion which is hard to shift. If these kids were showing signs of serious talent in their respective age groups their next port of call wouldn't be Elgin City or East Kilbride. 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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Daniel Dubois was late for Usyk fight thanks to dad's party and accreditation blunder that saw him WALK to Wembley
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WITH less than 90 minutes to go before the first bell sounded, Daniel Dubois had only just arrived at Wembley for his fight with Oleksandr Usyk. Dubois was first captured entering the stadium at 8.20pm, giving him less than an hour and a half until he was due to make his ringwalk. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Daniel Dubois arrived with just 90 minute to go before fighting Oleksandr Usyk 4 Dubois was knocked out in round five Credit: Reuters Immediately, fans raised concerns with the IBF heavyweight champion cutting it fine ahead of the biggest fight of his life. The late arrival remained a mystery in the aftermath of Usyk's stunning fifth-round knockout. But according to The Times, a party at the Dubois household and administrative travel error was to blame for the delay. His imposing dad and mentor Stan is said to have hosted a party at their Essex mansion on the afternoon of the fight. But Dubois - an introverted character - apparently did not know even all of the guests well and at one point left at for a drive. From the party, their departure was supposedly delayed after Stan requested extra people carriers to bring his entourage to Wembley. He then drove Dubois to the venue himself, which caused further issues as only designated vehicles had been accredited entry. The boxer and his dad then astonishingly had to then WALK to the stadium entrance on foot from the car park. Usyk vs Dubois round by round as brutal knockout cements Ukrainian's place in history OLEKSANDR USYK cemented his name in the list of all-time boxing greats as he became a three-time undisputed champion with a fifth round knockout win over Daniel Dubois. Usyk dropped Dubois multiple times as he put any doubts about his first win over the Brit to bed by cementing the repeat and avoiding the revenge. Here, SunSport's Jack Figg gives his round-by-round verdict... ROUND ONE Usyk looks light on his toes, swaying side to side, Dubois plants his feet and walks forward. Stiff jab from Usyk appears to almost wake Dubois up and the Brit responds with a one-two. Usyk searches to the body with a left, blocks a right hand from Dubois and ends the round with a menacing combo. Usyk 10 Dubois 9 ROUND TWO Dubois lunges in with a right hand, Usyk expertly takes half a step back and responds with a counter left. Another right misses from Dubois and he takes a left cross which has him on shaky legs. Already Usyk is finding his rhythm, making Dubois miss and certainly making him pay. Usyk 10 Dubois 9 (Usyk 20 Dubois 18) ROUND THREE Usyk staggers back after a right hand from Dubois - maybe more off balance than hurt. Dubois charges forward with a left hook, right hand but Usyk covers up well. Huge left hook lands on the button from Usyk, sweat sprays off Dubois face. Usyk 10 Dubois 9 (Usyk 30 Dubois 27) ROUND FOUR Right uppercut lands on Usyk's belt-line in a genuine case of dejavu from low-blow gate in their first fight. Dubois traps Usyk in the corner, lands a right but the Ukrainian legend slips off before any troubling damage can be done. Left hand lands for Usyk but Dubois grabs on and closes the distance, smart defence to cap off his best round so far. Usyk 9 Dubois 10 (Usyk 39 Dubois 37) ROUND FIVE Right hook followed by a left hand lands for Usyk has Dubois teetering backwards. Dubois comes forward, charging at Usyk and the two trade off in the corner but DOWN GOES DUBOIS after a counter right hook. He makes it to his feet but is dropped with another left hook and the fight is over! Dubois fails to beat the count and Usyk is once again undisputed heavyweight world champion. Usyk wins by KO CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS When the pair did finally arrive, footage surfaced online of Dubois' entourage being refused entry by security. It is claimed Stan essentially told them Dubois - one half of the night's headline act - would not proceed without them. Oleksandr Usyk has press conference in stitches as he NAMES the left hook that floored Daniel Dubois at Wembley The ringside seating area had close to 50 chairs saved for guests of Stan Dubois. Despite the chaotic build-up to the undisputed title bout - it is unlikely to have affected the result of the fight. Usyk - now a three-time undisputed champ across two weights - dropped Dubois with a right hook in before a chopping left closed the show. He now has two victories of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Dubois. Usyk has warned he has just one bout left in his iconic career but could not commit to who he will sign off against. He even teased unwanted trilogies with Fury and Joshua or a gimmick rematch against Derek Chisora - who he beat in 2020 - as options. But Joseph Parker is set to be ordered by the WBO as Usyk's next mandatory challenger. For Dubois, he is set to take some time out of the ring as his promoter Frank Warren backed him to bounce back. 'You just run out of things to say' – Usyk is a modern day great and one of the best boxers we have ever seen OLEKSANDR USYK is a modern day great and one of the best boxers we have ever seen. The Ukrainian battered a gallant but completely outclassed Daniel Dubois in their Wembley rematch to become a three-time undisputed champion. Two of those came at heavyweight after he had already cleaned up the cruiserweight division. You just run out of things to say about Usyk. Everything that he does just impresses you more and more and more. Read the full comment piece on the Ukrainian's stunning KO victory. Warren said: "He has got to learn from it. He is only 27. "I look at Frank Bruno for example, three times he fought for a world title and he got it on the fourth attempt. "Daniel has won a world title so hopefully he will come back, but the bottom line is it was Usyk's night and he is a special, special boxer." Warren pointed to Dubois dropping his hands - out of exhaustion - as the mistake that led to the KO. He said: "That is what Daniel needs to learn from this fight, to try and learn and develop the mental attitude that Usyk has. "Daniel didn't stick to the task, he got careless, he dropped his hands and paid the price." Warren then added: "For Daniel now, he'll have a little break, think about things and he has got to resurrect himself. "There are lots of fighters over the years who have been beaten and come back even stronger. That is what he has to do. "He can punch, he can hurt you and it's just developing other aspects of his game. He's got to come back and make a statement." 4 Dubois with his dad and mentor Stan Credit: Getty
STV News
2 hours ago
- STV News
Scottish sides learn potential Europa opponents in next qualifying round
Rangers and Hibernian have found out their potential opponents in the next qualifying rounds of the Europa League. The draws for the third qualifying rounds of all three European competitions, which are dependent on how the teams fare in their second round ties, are taking place on Monday. In an earlier draw, Rangers learned that if they get past Panathinaikos, they will face the winners of the Viktoria Plzen v Servette tie in the Champions League third-round qualifiers. However, if the Greek side knocks them out of the top competition, they will drop down into the Europa League, where they will take on Besiktas, from Turkey, or Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk for a place in the play-off round. Hibernian start off in the Europa League and will travel to Denmark to play FC Midtjylland in the first-leg of their qualifier on Thursday. If they get through that two-legged tie, then it will be Norwegian side Fredrikstad up next as they look to take another step towards the League Phase of the second-tier competition. If the Easter Road club get knocked out by the Danish side, then they will drop into the Conference League qualifiers. The draw for that competition, which will also include Dundee United, takes place at 1pm. United start off in the third tier, where they will be hoping to get past UNA Strassen from Luxembourg. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
