‘Fresh chicken’ Daniel Dubois should keep needling Oleksandr Usyk – Amir Khan
By Phil Blanche, PA
Amir Khan believes Daniel Dubois should keep winding up Oleksandr Usyk to realise his dream of becoming undisputed world heavyweight champion.
Dubois has the opportunity to add Usyk’s WBA (Super), WBO and WBC belts to his own IBF crown at Wembley Stadium on July 19.
The pair faced off at England’s national stadium on Monday when Dubois shoved Usyk in the chest, leading the Ukrainian to suggest that it was a sign of “weakness” on the part of the 27-year-old Briton.
But former unified light-welterweight world champion Khan told the PA news agency: “People know when there’s a push or a pull, there’ll always be a little bit of hype behind it.
“It’s good promotion for the fight. But I think Dubois needs to do more of that to get his personality across and for people to recognise him a little bit.
“Normally he is a quiet guy but it’s good to show that confidence. He’s not the young kid they think he is.
“He’s a man and he tried to show them, ‘Look, I’m ready for this. I’m confident as well’.”
Usyk, 38, is undefeated in 23 fights and beat Dubois with a controversial ninth-round stoppage in Poland in August 2023.
Dubois knocked down Usyk in the fifth round, but referee Luis Pabon ruled it a low blow, allowing him a lengthy recovery period.
The Londoner’s promoter Frank Warren lost an appeal to the WBA for the bout to be called a no-contest.
“That body-shot hurt, and it wasn’t low, in my opinion,” Khan said. “I feel he didn’t get the decision, with Usyk being the champion and Dubois not being the biggest name in that fight.
“Now with a bit of hype behind him after beating (Anthony) Joshua, putting bums on seats, and being a bigger name, if that happened now they’d think twice about it.
“Usyk’s been in a lot of wars and Dubois is still a fresh chicken – he’s the younger, hungrier fighter.
“Credit to Usyk, he’s had hard, hard fights and taking big shots from heavyweights takes a lot out of you.
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“He’s been in a lot of wars, and you don’t know if you’re going to be the same fighter again. It can hit you overnight.”
Khan has relaunched his AK Promotions company to link up with Legacy Promotions to take big-time boxing to Africa.
Former world title challenger Andrew Tabiti will face home favourite Jacob Dickson on a DAZN televised bill in Ghana on July 13, with Londoner Ohara Davies, the former WBA and WBC International light-welterweight champion, also in action.
“I’ve got a name and I want to utilise that by doing regular shows,” Khan said. “So many boxers have got African roots and I want to help build something lasting.”