Dubois And Usyk Square Off In London

DANIEL DUBOIS CAME face-to-face for a second time with the unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk at the Cafe Royal Hotel in London’s Piccadilly ahead of the pair’s August 26 encounter in Poland, being shown live on TNT Sports Box Office.

The London leg of the media gathering followed on from a first meeting in Warsaw on Monday to launch the promotional activity for Dubois’ mandatory challenge for the three belts held by the undefeated Ukrainian, who was previously undisputed world cruiserweight champion.

“He is my next target and it is as straight as that,” stated the confident Londoner, 25, who holds a record of 19-1 (18 KOs) and is currently the WBA regular world heavyweight champion. “It is my time and I am just ready, confident and positive over what I have got to do to him.

“There is always pressure but, honestly, I am built for it and I can handle it. We are just ready to go in there and do a job. My team is ready, I am ready, Frank is behind me, so let’s go and get it.”

Coming into the fight off a win-double over Anthony Joshua, Usyk revealed that he sees similarities to himself in his burly challenger.

“I see myself in his eyes,” said the 36-year-old southpaw. “He is nervous, a little bit. I am not under pressure normally and the only time I am is in training.

“It is going to be extraordinary fighting in Poland. I am not thinking about Daniel’s size or character, he is a young kid, a talented kid with a good future. He is the contender, but I need to do my job.”

The promoter of Dubois, Frank Warren, is hugely confident of his man upsetting the odds and shocking the world on August 26.

“I genuinely believe that Usyk knows he is in a real fight,” said the Hall of Fame man. “He won’t underestimate Daniel because he is a consummate professional and I think, at the end of the day, it will be a great fight.

Daniel and his team believe they will win the fight and so do I, otherwise I wouldn’t have made the fight. We sat down as a team, we talked about it a lot and said ‘let’s go for it’.

“I totally believe he can win this fight.”