Daniel Dubois for shock win? ‘Oleksandr Usyk won’t know what’s hit him’, says promoter Frank Warren
Oleksandr Usyk will defend his unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight belts against Britain’s Daniel Dubois, his mandatory challenger, later this month; Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren believes the Briton can spring a monumental upset. He explains why
Ambitious British contender Daniel Dubois will be looking to upset unified champion Oleksandr Usyk later this month, with the world’s top heavyweights set for action over the weeks to come.
Promoter Frank Warren believes Dubois can shock the formidable Usyk, and the world, on August 26 and beat the formidable Ukrainian to win the IBF, WBO and WBA titles when they fight in Poland.
“I’m confident because I believe in him,” Warren told Sky Sports.
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“Usyk is a very, very good fighter. He’s a great cruiserweight. He’s done everything that’s been asked of him. But I look at fights, I don’t just look at their last performance.”
Usyk is returning to the ring after 12 months out since defeating Anthony Joshua on points for a second time to defend his unified titles.
But Warren noted that Usyk has demonstrated vulnerabilities in previous fights, particularly when faced with relentless pressure.
“When he fought against Derek Chisora, there was nothing in that fight until Chisora ran out of gas towards the end when he wore him out. But there wasn’t anything in that fight early on,” the promoter said.
“I look at [Usyk] against AJ for the first fight. AJ wasn’t at the races. He was a bit better in the second fight, but for me AJ’s not firing like he was anyway. He showed that in his last fight. He’s not the fighter he once was.”
