Frank Warren is backing his promotional charge and mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois to upset the odds when he faces Oleksandr Usyk on August 26th in Poland.
Dubois earned his opportunity to contest the unified titles following his win over Trevor Bryan last summer, claiming victory inside four rounds before solidifying his position with a turbulent win over Kevin Lerena.
Dubois tasted the canvas three times in the opening round against Lerena in December last year, sustaining a ACL injury in the process. Warren has dispelled any fears of the damage playing a factor in his upcoming fight with Usyk and focused on the strength of Dubois’s survival skills to battle through the adversity of that night in December.
“Daniel, in his last fight, I don’t think he warmed up properly, and he got caught on the top of the head. You’ve seen on numerous occasions the vulnerability when someone gets caught like that,” Warren said when speaking to Sky Sports.
“He got caught, went over, and, as he did, he tore his ligament, which is a fact. He’s had it operated on. He gritted his teeth and came through that. He took a count twice, and didn’t get knocked down [again]. He took a count twice and then gritted his teeth and did what he had to do. That answered a lot of questions.”
Warren continued to add that Usyk is a fantastic fighter but feels that Dubois and his style will be the critical factor in the fight, believing that Usyk will not be able to handle the come forward nature of Dubois, who feel’s will let his hands “go.”
“I’m confident because I believe in him,” Warren told Sky Sports. “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.
“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,” Warren 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.”
Ultimately Warren believes that Usyk still has to answer questions regarding his ability to take a shot from a heavyweight and that the timing of the opportunity for Dubois to secure unified title glory could be just around the corner.
“I fancy him big time in the fight. He’s young, he’s strong, sometimes it’s your moment, and I think it’s his moment. I know that if he catches Usyk, Usyk won’t know what’s hit him. Can he cope with that power?” Warren said.
