Former boxing champion Carl Froch recently shared his insights on his video blog “Froch on Fighting”, offering a detailed analysis of what’s to come in the Usyk – Dubois fight. Let’s unpack his thoughts.
Carl Froch opened his thoughts by examining Dubois’ past encounters, particularly his loss to Joe Joyce:
Carl Froch: “Daniel Dubois is a big puncher. He’s only lost once to Joe Joyce. He got his eye socket fractured, I believe, with a jab. He kept walking into the jab. Joe Joyce is quite a fearsome, strong, fit, come-forward fighter… and Daniel had a bit of a nightmare with him. Never really got going in that fight.”
But does one stumble define a boxer? What makes Dubois still a dangerous contender for Usyk?
“Out of his 19 wins, he’s knocked out 18 of them. He punches very hard; he’s a big knockout man, so he’s obviously got a chance.”
Dubois’ Power: A Game Changer?
“Daniel thinks he’s got a puncher’s chance, and that doesn’t just mean if he’s lucky with a punch, and he lands. He can punch hard, and if he connects with that right hand, which he could do at any stage through this fight, a 12-round fight, a world title fight, he’s going to be coming; he’s going to be fit and strong.”
Alexander Usyk: The Unbeatable?
An Olympic gold medalist, unified cruiserweight champ, and now unified heavyweight champion, Usyk seems almost invincible. Froch’s admiration for Usyk is apparent:
Carl Froch: “Alexander Usyk, the unified Champion we know all about him. He beat Derek Chisora; he had back-to-back wins with Anthony Joshua, took all his titles, and he also flattened Tony Bellew. But that was a Cruiserweight, so we know that, and we know how good he is… If you put both their names into a computer, and the computer generated a winner, I think 99 times out of 100, maybe even 100 times out 100, you’re going to have Usyk winning that fight because he doesn’t know how to lose. Alexander Usyk is just an unbelievable talent, and he’s almost unbeatable. Everyone’s beatable, but he’s almost unbeatable until the point he gets beat… If I’m picking a winner, I still say that you’ve got to pick Alexander Usyk. He’s such a great fighter, such a top fighter, he’s so skillful, and he’s growing into the weight division.”
But as Froch points out, every fighter can be beaten. Is this the right time for Usyk to lose, or will he continue to dominate?
The Prediction
Froch cautiously leans toward Usyk but does not completely rule out Dubois:
Carl Froch: “Uysk’s heavyweight champ; he’s fighting Dubois; he will probably win this fight on points over 12 rounds, maybe even get a late stoppage… I’ve got no real agenda on this one. I think Usyk’s a great guy if he wins well done, fair play to him, but if Daniel Dubois can pull off what a lot of people are saying is the Impossible, then I’ll be behind him, and I’ll be giving him lots of credit.”
Full interview:
