Oleksandr Usyk is ready to exploit a major weakness in Daniel Dubois when they meet for the undisputed heavyweight title later this month.
On July 19, exclusively live on DAZN PPV, Usyk will attempt to unify his WBA, WBC and WBO belts with Dubois' IBF title and become a three-time undisputed heavyweight champion at Wembley Stadium.
Usyk already knows what it takes to overcome Dubois after stopping the British fighter in 2023, but this loss for Dubois sparked a career resurgence.
Three successive stoppage wins for 'Dynamite' followed. First came Jarrell 'Big Baby' Miller, then Filip Hrgovic which was followed by a knockout of former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
This destructive performance against British boxing's poster boy was arguably Dubois' best performance to date and the Ukrainian believes his next opponent has improved since their first encounter.
"Maybe yeah, maybe, a lot of years have passed, and Daniel has grown," Usyk said during an exclusive interview with DAZN's Carl Frampton.
When asked about whether Dubois deserved his shot at boxing history, it was a simple response from Usyk, "Yeah, Daniel deserves it."
It was not too long ago when Dubois was seen as boxing's serial 'quitter'.
After taking the knee in losses to Joe Joyce and Usyk, Dubois was often ridiculed by both fans and some fighters for his mentality inside the ring, this appears to have changed since he became a destructive force at heavyweight.
However, Usyk believes that Dubois' still has a major weakness and labelled the IBF title holder as someone who is "afraid" inside the ring.
"Daniel is a little bit afraid, I am too, but my afraid is different."
Usyk does not shy away from partaking in mind games and he was already engaging in psychological warfare at the launch press conference in April when he got Dubois to sign a photo from their first fight in Poland.
With fight week fast approaching, it will be interesting to see what Usyk and his team have in store as they attempt to unsettle Dubois before bidding for greatness in the English capital in front of a packed out Wembley Stadium.
Watch Usyk vs Dubois 2 exclusively live on DAZN PPV, Saturday, July 19. Buy the PPV now here