“Usyk is an exceptional fighter, we know that, yeah, but he’s got to cut out the cheating,” said Don Charles during the post-fight conference following the first fight between his pupil, now a champion, Daniel Dubois, and the unified champion Oleksandr Usyk. The bitterness of feeling robbed of a potential win seems to linger to this day.

Yesterday, while the boxing world was still basking in the afterglow of that thriller between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn, news broke that a rematch has been scheduled between Usyk and Dubois. The two will slug it out at Wembley Stadium on July 19. The stakes this time are different. Unlike their previous encounter, where Usyk defended his unified title, this time the undisputed heavyweight championship will be on the line. As battle lines are drawn, the visuals of the low-blow controversy that erupted in Poland continue to haunt. Speaking in an interview with Radio Rahim, Don Charles once again made clear who he believes was at fault the first time around.

In the end, guilt brings the truth to light

Unhesitatingly, Charles stated, “He knows that he cheated on that night.” This came in response to Radio Rahim asking whether calling out Usyk for alleged cheating might make the rematch even more dangerous. “He (Usyk) certainly is going to take exception to the idea that he put it on to help get him some extra time later in the fight,” Rahim pointed out. “And then being called a cheat on top of that does give you any pause to wind Usyk up. Are you making this fight even more dangerous?”

The question stemmed from Charles’s earlier claim. According to him, influenced by Usyk’s tactics earlier in the fight, the referee could have wrongly ruled the body shot as low. Usyk had repeatedly pointed to the referee and claimed low blows during the opening rounds, even when they were not. Thus, he conditioned the referee to later call a legitimate body shot a foul.

“No, we’re telling the truth,” insisted Don Charles. Knowing that he ‘cheated,’ perhaps being a religious man, Usyk’s conscience troubled him. It’s prevented him from sleeping well, he suggested.

Yet, alongside the accusations came a note of appreciation for the Ukrainian champion. In Charles’ opinion, it could be the same conscience that pushed Usyk to seek a rematch with Daniel Dubois. As his illustrious career nears its end, perhaps Usyk wants to set the record straight before hanging up the gloves.

While expressing confidence that his star pupil will not suffer another defeat, Charles remarked, “So in order to erase that, get back in the ring. Should he be successful, which I don’t believe he will be, then he’ll say, ‘There you go.’”

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois: no more excuses

It’s been nearly two years since their controversial encounter at Stadium Wroclaw. At the time, Usyk was returning from a year-long break following his second consecutive victory over Anthony Joshua. The bout against Dubois served as a prelude to his eventual undisputed clash with Tyson Fury nine months later.

From the outset, it was clear who had control of the match. Controversy erupted when Usyk found himself on the canvas after Dubois’ punch landed on his abdomen. Instead of ruling it a knockdown, referee Luis Pabon deemed it a low blow. Adding fuel to the fire, Usyk received more than the usual recovery time.

Dubois fought on, even surviving an eighth-round knockdown. But in the ninth round he failed to beat the referee’s count after a clean right hand from Usyk connected with his face. Frustrated with the outcome, his team filed an appeal with the WBA, seeking to have the fight declared a no-contest. But the sanctioning body upheld the original result.

Now, with the rematch officially set, fans are eager to see whether Daniel Dubois can avenge the second loss of his professional career. One thing is certain: Usyk will be facing a vastly improved Dubois when they meet again in July.

What’s your take? Do you think Dubois will finally get his revenge?