By Charles Brun: David Haye took to social media today to give Daniel Dubois a pep talk, telling him to rough up IBF, IBO, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk if need be this Saturday night, but get his belts from him, no matter what it takes.
The 25-year-old Dubois is Usyk’s WBA mandatory and has very little chance of winning. Hence, the talk of him needing to rough up Usyk with the bending of the Marques of Queensberry rules to even things out.
This message from Haye fits in with what Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) has been saying this week about him winning by any means necessary this Saturday, August 26th, at Tarczyński Arena Wrocław in Wroclaw, Poland.
We don’t know how far out of bounds Dubois will go regarding his fouling/cheating on Saturday night. I guess that will depend on how desperate he is and the quality of the referee.
If a referee has a Laissez-faire attitude in controlling what goes on inside the ring, Dubois will have carte blanche to do anything he pleases with his chosen roughhouse tactics, and Usyk will have to do the best he can under the circumstances.
Dubois’ performance against Kevin Lerena & Joe Joyce suggests that he doesn’t belong inside the same with a talent like Usyk, but given that the World Boxing Association has two champions at heavyweight, he’s getting the shot anyway.
Saturday’s Usyk vs. Dubois event will be shown in the U.S. on ESPN+ at 2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. PT.
Mission impossible for Dubois
“So here we go. We’ve got a big one Saturday night, live on TNT Sports box office,” said David Haye on social media, talking about this Saturday’s fight between IBF, IBO, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and challenger Daniel Dubois.
“You got Daniel Dubois trying to do what many fans view as a mission impossible, going in against Oleksandr Usyk, the unified heavyweight champion of the world, a man who’s shown very, very few chinks in his armor, but he’s going to have to do the unthinkable.”
Usyk isn’t infallible, as he’s not big for a heavyweight, and he’s not partially fast of hand or powerful. You can argue that Dubois has faster hand speed, and of course, he’s a lot younger at 25 than the 36-year-old Usyk.
“He’s [Dubois] going to have to really put the heat on Usyk, use his superior frame, his size, his youth, and his freshness,” said Haye. “Usyk had a long amateur career, many, many tough cruiserweight fights, and he’s had some tough heavyweight fights.
“He’s going to need to do something very special, Daniel Dubois, but we need to get behind him. He’s a young man who has everything to gain and nothing to lose.
“No one’s expecting anything out of him, but deep in his heart; he knows this is his opportunity. So we really got to back our man.
“He’s young, he’s fresh, he’s hungry, and Usyk is a wizard; he’s a magician in there, but he doesn’t want to allow Usyk to do his tricks.
“He just needs to knock the cards out of his hand, grab him, and get points deducted if needs be, but he’s got a drag Usyk into a very, very uncomfortable situation.
“He can do it. He’s got the physical capability to do it. He’s got the punch power to do it. It’s going to be a hard, hard night, but it’s going to be a fantastic night.
“I cannot wait. You’ve got to get behind our boy Daniel Dubois. Come on, Danny. Let’s do this, son,” said Haye with his motivational message.
