Promoter Frank Warren is convinced Daniel Dubois has not one, but two ways in which he can defeat Oleksandr Usyk in their massive four-belt heavyweight unification showdown that will of course take place on the 19th of this month. Speaking with his Queensbury Promotions channel, Warren said he feels Dubois can knock Usyk out, “if he catches him.” While Warren also said, perhaps surprisingly, that he believes Dubois “can outbox” Usyk.
Warren did stress that Dubois’ mind has to be right, with him having to be 100 percent fully focused on the night, but that he can absolutely win and make history by becoming the first British fighter to hold all four world heavyweight titles.
“We’ve got a great fight,” Warren said. “If he [Dubois] catches him, he’ll go. If he doesn’t, I think he can outbox him. But whatever is gonna happen, I’ve got no say in it. It’s down to these two guys, when that bell rings. The best will be the best. It’s going to be a really, really electric night, there’s no doubt about it.”
For sure, everybody is looking forward to this fight, and no matter who wins, we should indeed see something special. Usyk is as we know the older man by some 11 years at age 38, and some experts do feel the reigning and defending WBA/WBO/WBC heavyweight champ is on at least a little bit of a decline. If so, and if Dubois can fight the fight of his career, maybe Warren will be proven right.
That said, it is tough to see Dubois outboxing Usyk, who is one of the best, and is one of the smartest boxers the division has seen. Usyk’s ring IQ is what wins him fights, and so many people feel this will be the same case again here.
Usyk-Dubois Undercard: Lawrence Okolie vs. Kevin Lerena
Finally, we have some official news regarding the undercard fights that will support the massive rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois at Wembley on July 19. As per Frank Warren’s Queensbury rules, two fights have been announced.
At heavyweight, Lawrence Okolie will be looking to make it two heavyweight wins in a row when he faces South Africa’s Kevin Lerena. And at light heavyweight, British and Commonwealth champion Lewis Edmonson will face Ukraine’s Daniel Lapin.
Of the two confirmed fights, the Okolie-Lerena fight is the most interesting. Londoner Okolie, AKA “The Sauce,” went up to join the heavyweight division in December, this after having won belts at cruiserweight and bridgerweight. Okolie wiped out Hussein Muhamed in a round, this whilst weighing an eye-catching 250 pounds (how Okolie make 200 pounds we will never know). Since then, although he was supposed to fight Richard Riakporhe a while back, only for the fight to fall though, Okolie has been inactive.
Against southpaw Lerena, 31-3(15), Okolie may or may not get tested. Lerena also fought as a cruiserweight, where he ruled as IBO champ, and Lerena has also boxed at bridgerweight, with him winning the WBC belt. It was in fact in his last fight that Lerena defeated Serhiy Radchenko to retain the bridger belt. As a heavyweight, Lerena is perhaps best known for dropping Daniel Dubois three times in the opening round, back in December of 2022.
Lerena can be dangerous, and he is usually durable and exciting to watch. Okolie may well need to be on his best behaviour in this one. Lerena has been stopped just the one time, this by Dubois, who recovered from being bowled over three times to stop Lerena in round three.
Since that loss, Lerena has gone 3-1, with the loss coming on points to Justis Huni.
Hopefully, plenty more action will be added to the July card and will be announced before too long. We are now just over five weeks away from the big rematch between Usyk and Dubois.
