Heavyweight contender Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois 19-1 (18) might be the underdog going in to his world title challenge against WBA, WBO and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk 20-0 (13) at Stadion Wroclaw in Wroclaw, Poland on August 26, but he believes the opportunity is coming at the right time.
The 25-year-old Brit hit a bump in the road three years ago when he ran into a determined Joe ‘Juggernaut’ Joyce 15-1 (14) who stopped him in 10 rounds with a fractured eye socket.
Since then Dubois has rebuilt his career, stringing together four wins, all by early knockout.
Facing Usyk is the culmination of a lifelong dream.
“It’s the world, it’s everything,” Dubois said to TNT Sports. “It’s every heavyweight fighter’s dream to fight for all the belts, unified titles. It’s what I’ve been working towards. It means so much to me right now, I’m ready to go, let’s get it on.
“My dad always told me before I even started boxing, ‘You want to be heavyweight champion’. We were watching Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno and all them guys. They did it so now it’s my turn. They laid the foundations. It’s my time now.
“I’ve been working hard. I’ve been in the gym. I’ve been through ups and downs. I’ve learnt my lessons and I’m ready to take them on, take all them belts.”
Dubois backers can get odds of 8-1 on their man.
“It’s not pressure for me, you know, this fight, it’s no pressure,” Dubois said. “I’ve got to go in there and I’ve got to do a job on him. The bookies and all that, it is what it is. He’s the favourite, we all know that already, so there’s no pressure for me.
“It’s not relaxed, but it’s all just clear. The path is clear. Not too many noises, not too many voices trying to pull you around here and there. I don’t listen to that anyway, so that wouldn’t make a difference, but it’s good to be the underdog. That’s what I like.”
Ukrainian southpaw Usyk, 36, must defeat the big punching Dubois to keep his hopes of a four-belt unification bout against WBC champion Tyson Fury 33-0-1 (24) alive.
If that fight is to come to fruition, Usyk needs to remain focused on the dangerous man in front of him.
“I treat him with respect,” Usyk said to TNT Sports. “I don’t underestimate him. I treat him like I used to treat all of my opponents in the past.
“When I get myself prepared for Anthony Joshua or for anyone else, I do some volume of work in my training and with Daniel Dubois there is no exception. I do exactly the same work. I train as hard as I can, as it’s possible, to achieve my goal in the ring.”
