Warren Unfazed By Dubois Underdog Status Against Usyk Rematch

Promoter Frank Warren isn’t worried about his fighter Daniel Dubois going into his rematch with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk as the underdog in 40 days on July 19th.

Dubois: Underdog or Quitter?

IBF heavyweight champion Dubois, 27, is the underdog with the oddsmakers, and many fans believe he’s going to revert to form by quitting next month against Usyk at Wembley Stadium in London.

It’s difficult to believe that Dubois will do anything other than what he’s shown in the past when under fire. He’s a basket case. Dubois is outwardly tough, but inside, pure jelly when dealing with adversity.

Warren doesn’t see that happening. He points out that Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) was the underdog in his fights against Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, Anthony Joshua, and Usyk. Daniel won three of those four fights.

“He’s not been a favourite going into his last four fights. Make that five fights because the bookmakers are making Usyk the favourite,” Warren said to The Ring about Daniel Dubois being the underdog going into his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk on July 19th.

“He wasn’t a favourite in Poland, those Riyadh Season fights with Miller and Hrgovic, and certainly wasn’t against Joshua, where he went into the lion’s den.”

Mental Weakness Concerns

It’s understandable why fans and bettors are doubting Dubois. His recent pulling out of his scheduled fight against Joseph Parker on February 22nd, with a mysterious illness, gave fans doubts about his mental toughness. They believe Dubois got cold feet, chickened out, and ran from the battlefield, showing his yellow stripe.

Dubois’ Stress Response Pattern

There were Dubois’ fights against Usyk in Poland and against Joe Joyce, in which he quit when things got tough for him. Those were classic examples. He was fine early on, but when Usyk and Joyce were still there after the eighth round, he crumbled.

He has shown mental weakness in many of his fights and struggled even against lower-tier opponents. The three fights that Warren mentions in which Dubois was the underdog and won. Daniel struggled during moments in each of those fights, looking on the verge of breaking. We saw that in Daniel’s clashes against ‘Big Baby’ Miller, Hrgovic, and Joshua.

“I ain’t worried about that, and he’s not worried about it. He’s in a good place of mind, believes in himself and his ability as we do. That’s why we’ve made the fight,” said Warren.

There’s a pattern that Dubois has shown in each of his last five fights, where he stresses out when getting hit. You can see the quit in him during moments where things aren’t going well.

Dubois’ Last Five Fights:

– Anthony Joshua
– Filip Hrgovic
– Jarrell Miller
– Oleksandr Usyk
– Kevin Lerena