Renowned power-puncher and now heavyweight title challenger, Daniel Dubois, has explained his game plan ahead of his upcoming unified title bout against WBA, WBO and IBF champion, Oleksandr Usyk.
The 25-year-old Briton has registered eighteen knockouts in his nineteen wins as a professional, all of which have come in the fifth round or sooner.
However, that’s nothing new to Usyk, who twice outpointed the hard-hitting, two-time world champion, Anthony Joshua, to claim his heavyweight belts and become a titlist in a second division.
London 2012 Olympic gold medallist, Joshua, tried to defeat the Ukrainian at his own game in their first fight, backing his skills as a boxer to be superior than the notoriously intelligent former undisputed cruiserweight champion.
After this plan failed, ‘AJ’ sacked his long-time trainer, Rob McCracken, appointed Robert Garcia as his replacement for the rematch but came up short again, losing by split-decision.
In an interview with TNT Sports, Dubois detailed what he had learnt from Joshua’s two fights with Usyk and revealed his belief that he is unlikely to get a decision on away territory, where Usyk will be a firm fan-favourite.
“The first fight, AJ was a bit too cautious, for me, in a fight with Usyk. You’ve got to rough him up haven’t you, it’s no secret. You can’t stand there and outbox him or anything, you’ve got to rough him up.”
“Definitely [I need to knock him out], it’s in Poland, on away grounds. It has to be something spectacular, something amazing, I want to win in style. I’m not really looking to outpoint him and all of that, I want a comprehensive finish.”
As anticipated, Dubois will be relying on his phenomenal power to blow the tricky champion away and aim to use his physical advantages to aid him.
The event will take place on August 26 in Wroclaw, Poland, with the card available to watch live on TNT Sports Box Office.