Fighter-turned-trainer, Malik Scott, has no hesitation when predicting how Oleksandr Usyk will fare in his mandatory title defence against Daniel Dubois.
Following a 42-bout career with 38 wins, Scott now finds himself in the corner guiding other fighters – his premier partnership being with Deontay Wilder, who knocked him out in 2014.
Plotting future fights for his man, Scott has a keen eye on current unified heavyweight champion, Usyk. He spoke to ES News about the upcoming fight with the UK’s Dubois, and made a definitive pick.
“Usyk. Daniel Dubois to me doesn’t have the pedigree, he doesn’t have the mindset. His mind is not that open to compete against Usyk.
Now as far as size and strength and power. Is he a big man that has strength? Yeah. But you take that away, it’s gonna be easy pickings for Usyk.”
Dubois will be challenging for the WBA, WBO and IBF titles in Poland on August 26 at just 25-years-old.
He gained his mandatory position with a win over Trevor Bryan, and defended it against Kevin Lerena last December – surviving three knockdowns in the first round to win by stoppage in the third.
The fight is the first heavyweight world title action of 2023, and a win – should Scott be correct – will set Usyk up for an undisputed fight against fellow-champion, Tyson Fury.
The Ukrainian is undefeated in 20 fights, and is attempting to conquer the top division after doing the very same at cruiserweight. He’ll enter the ring a big favourite to avoid the power punches of Dubois.