Daniel Dubois attempted to play mind games in his kick-off presser with Oleksandr Usyk in the run-up to their July 19 Undisputed Heavyweight Title fight.
The pair have a history, having faced off in 2023 in a controversial bout. Dubois dropped Usyk in the fifth round with a body shot that was declared a low blow. Usyk was given up to five minutes to recover, and he put that incident behind him to stop Dubois in the ninth round.
Dubois was criticised for quitting when he was on the canvas, getting up only after the count was over. He appealed the decision, hoping to get it turned into a no-contest, but the WBA upheld the ruling. Usyk later went on to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion by defeating Tyson Fury.
Usyk Vs. Dubois
Now, Dubois has a second shot at the title. Usyk vacated his IBF belt after the Fury win, which Dubois picked up. He made the first defense of it with a stoppage victory against Anthony Joshua. Dubois’ team called Usyk a cheater. Dubois’ coach Don Charles said Usyk should have received an Oscar for his acting. Usyk’s team retaliated by bringing photos of the alleged low blow to prove that it was, in fact, against the rules.
A member of Dubois’ team, George Fox, also heckled Usyk as the latter challenged him and his team to a street fight. The problem facing Dubois is that he must now back up this persona. Fury tried to do the same thing with Usyk in the run-up to their first fight. He put his head up against Usyk, trying to push him back during their kick-off presser.
The Gypsy King also blanked Usyk during one of their final face-offs, trying to ignore the Ukrainian who looked him stone-cold in the eye. Fury’s antics failed to work like they had previously done against Wladimir Klitschko, as Usyk almost knocked him out in the ninth round. While he did not get the stoppage, Usyk beat Fury in the first fight to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. He then defeated Fury once again to defend his unified heavyweight titles. Those losses sent Fury into retirement. Dubois has to be careful, as another loss could shatter his confidence, especially if he misses out on becoming undisputed.
Presser
“Yeah [I still feel cheated]. But it is in the past. I get a chance to put that wrong right. There’s a lot of s— being talked right now. But I cannot wait to put him to sleep on the night. I think I’m on fire now. I’m on fire and I’m just ready to go. It’s going to be a bloodbath. I’m going to put all the controversy to rest, and show that I’m the man of the future. I just know that on the night in the ring, he’ll be doing a funny dance when I hit him. We don’t care about no body shots, but we’re going to knock him out on the 19th,” Dubois
“I don’t think about these people, because it is just talking. A lot of people told me I would not take heavyweight belts, I would not take four belts. I said we’ll see. For me, it doesn’t matter. It’s my road. I’m ready right now [to fight],” Usyk
“It disappoints me that you can actually stoop as low as to bring those types of photographs with you. Why don’t you print the actual shot that had you trembling. “The acting you did that night, they should be giving you an Oscar, for the performance. You conned the referee, you conned us, you conned the boxing world. “You pride yourself as a God-fearing man, so I want to question what kind of god you worship, period. You can look at me as much as you want. The way it works is that the god has summoned you to come back here for our son Daniel Dubois to get revenge on you,” Don Charles
More must-reads: