For many, Daniel Dubois’ best chance of victory against Oleksandr Usyk this weekend lies with his power and his coach Don Charles thinks no one else’s comes close.
Dubois heads to Wraclow on August 26 for his first world title shot. In order to come away with the WBO, WBA and IBF belts, the 25-year-old Londoner must somehow solve a puzzle no one yet has in Usyk, the technical and mobile southpaw.
The Olympic gold medalist remains unbeaten in the ring having become undisputed cruiserweight champion before moving up to heavyweight to beat the likes of Derek Chisora and Anthony Joshua twice.
Dubois has knocked out 94% of his opponents so far and trainer Charles has told the Daily Mail he thinks his power will be too much for the Ukrainian to handle and that Dubois will “expose” him.
“I’m going to be arrogant. If Daniel Dubois is hitting him the way we envisage, Usyk will not survive it.”
Charles, who once trained Joshua, then goes on to say he thinks Dubois’ power is even greater than that of the former unified heavyweight world champion.
“Trust me on this, I’ve trained Anthony Joshua – it’s not publicly known. I worked with AJ before the Olympics and he hits hard. Joshua is a phenomenal puncher, but Dubois’ power is unmeasurable. [The game plan] is no secret. [Dubois] needs to jump on Usyk’s a**e.”
Charles also worked with Chisora during his loss to Usyk but reiterated his belief in Dubois and how his man could win.
“We’ve got to track Usyk. Don’t let him escape. Make the ring smaller, don’t follow him around. If he goes one way, cut him off. Keep him in one half of the ring and trap him. Daniel has the energy to punch and punch and punch. I believe we’ve got the perfect game plan to halt this guy because the minute Daniel corners him, the fight is over.”
We are now just days away from what Charles is hoping would be a sensational away win for the young British hopeful.