Usyk demolishes Dubois in cruel five-round masterclass

This was abrupt, this was startling, and in a way, this felt cruel.

- ALEX PATTLE

Cruel is not a word one would instinctively associate with Oleksandr Usyk, but in the cauldron that Wembley Stadium became, the Ukrainian lured in the young pretender and knocked him out, stealing tens of thousands of Dubois's fans in the process.

After their controversial first clash in 2023, when Usyk climbed off the canvas after a low blow that Dubois's team swore was a body shot, this rematch brought a distilled clarity. There was nothing to contest, nothing to debate, nothing to appeal.

The narrative was that Dubois, two years more mature and in the form of his boxing life, might just be meeting a 38-year-old Usyk at the right time yesterday. Yet Usyk, 11 years Dubois's elder, looked decades wiser in pugilistic terms, as he taught Dubois a harsh sporting lesson in London. Dubois barely even had moments to speak of, while Usyk established a key weapon early on - a counter, southpaw cross - and punished his opponent repeatedly.

In that sense, the speed with which Usyk arrived at the knockout, just five rounds into this undisputed title fight, might have been strangely merciful. But, again, the decisiveness and abruptness with which Usyk snatched Dubois's dreams from him felt almost... mean, to put it plainly.