Oleksandr Usyk’s manager delivers brutal Daniel Dubois putdown at final press conference

Egis Klimas, Oleksandr Usyk’s manager, did not buy into the narrative that Dubois is a changed man headed into their rematch.

Usyk at the final press conference for his rematch with Dubois (Getty Images)

Oleksandr Usyk’s manager, Egis Klimas, does not believe that Daniel Dubois has changed as much as he and his team claim ahead of their undisputed showdown on Saturday at Wembley.

Klimas said that Dubois is the same as he was two years ago when he got stopped by Usyk in their first meeting, and that Dubois’ mind is his weakness.

Speaking at Thursday's final press conference, Klimas said: “It’s the same guy. What can he change in a couple of years? You cannot train your mind, and that, I think, is his weakness.”

The questions around Dubois’s mental strength have been circling the young Brit since his first career loss to Joe Joyce in 2020, when he took a knee due to an eye injury.

Suspicions arose once again in 2023 when Dubois was stopped by Usyk. The Londoner got hit with a heavy jab from Usyk and once again took a knee - failing to meet the count.

Dubois’s promoter, Frank Warren, was quick to defend his fighter, telling Klimas that Dubois has shown obvious improvements to his game, both mentally and physically, in his last three fights.

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Warren said: “He certainly trained his mind against [Jarrell] Miller, he certainly trained his mind against [Filip] Hrgovic, and he certainly trained his mind against AJ [Anthony Joshua]. He’s got better and better.”

Klimas made it clear that Usyk is a very different proposition to any of Dubois’ last opponents.

He responded: “Oleksandr is not those three fighters, he is different than those three fighters. On Saturday night, history will be made at Wembley Stadium. You will see.”

Don Charles, who has been Dubois’ head coach since his first fight with Usyk, fired back as he accused Klimas of having been “asleep” while Dubois claimed victories over Miller, Hrgovic and Joshua.

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“We know what we have done, we know what we have been witnessing, he must have been sleeping for the last three fights Daniel has had, he must have been fast asleep, can someone please wake him up?”

The Ukrainian had a quick reply to Charles, reminding him that Usyk had also beaten Tyson Fury twice while he was supposedly asleep as the war of words between the two camps ramped up ahead of Saturday night.

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