I'm bringing Usyk's titles home - Dubois

1 year ago 16

Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois aft their face-off successful London

British heavyweight Daniel Dubois says helium is "bringing Oleksandr Usyk's titles home" arsenic the brace hole for their combat connected 26 August.

Ukraine's Usyk, 36, volition support his WBO, WBA (Super) and IBF titles against Dubois successful Wroclaw, Poland astatine the 24,000-capacity Tarczynski Arena.

Dubois, 25, holds the WBA (Regular) loop and is the mandatory challenger successful the bout.

"I'm 100% ready. We're acceptable to rumble - this is it," said Dubois.

"I'm bringing the titles backmost location - they're coming with me. It's my time. Usyk has been a large champion but everything with a opening has to person an end."

Dubois has won 19 fights, 18 by knockout, and been defeated once, past beating Kevin Lerena successful December.

Usyk, who has won each 20 fights and volition marque a 2nd defence of his unified title, was successful a playful temper astatine the media conference, saying helium feels "happy" and "hungry" earlier the bout.

"I deliberation highly of my opponent. He's a bully man, a bully guy, a bully athlete," said Usyk.

"He's the mandatory challenger truthful helium deserves it. All the respect for him, his squad and radical astir him, but let's halt talking and spot each different connected 26 August."

Former featherweight satellite champion Naseem Hamed, whose lad Aadam volition marque his debut connected the undercard successful Poland, said Usyk was engaging successful "fighting talk".

Originally scheduled for 12 August, the bout was pushed backmost by 2 weeks to much intimately align with Ukraine's Independence Day, which falls connected 24 August.

Following Russia's penetration of Ukraine, much than 1 cardinal Ukrainian refugees person relocated to Poland.

Uysk's promoter Alexander Krassyuk said they could not big the combat successful Ukraine due to the fact that of the war, and opted for Poland due to the fact that the champion would consciousness similar "the location fighter".

He referenced chap Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko's 2011 WBC heavyweight rubric defence against Tomasz Adamek successful the aforesaid metropolis arsenic inspiration.

Analysis

Oleksandr Usyk astatine the property league with Daniel Dubois

Dubois has been tipped for heavyweight stardom since making his debut arsenic a teenager.

He has spent his full vocation with Frank Warren's Queensberry and the promotion has present delivered Dubois' long-promised satellite rubric changeable via a WBA mandatory process - amazingly earlier Joe Joyce, who Dubois mislaid to successful 2020.

Hopes were precocious it would beryllium against chap Britons similar Anthony Joshua oregon Tyson Fury, but it is against astir apt the division's astir evasive champion successful the ring.

Relaxed arsenic ever astatine the media conference, Usyk has a tiny squad with him, including 3 information guards each dressed successful achromatic tops, caps and greenish cargo pants.

Usyk has the hopes of a federation connected his shoulders, and portion Dubois is tasked with spoiling the party, the Briton faces by acold the champion hostile of his career.

"I'm a large believer successful timing successful boxing, and I judge this is Daniel's time," Warren said.

But the spread betwixt contender and champion is often enormous, and Dubois volition person to nutrient a career-defining show successful August to span it.

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