'I'm not going to tell my fighter to behave himself'

Frank Warren tells Alex Pattle about this summer's rematch between his man Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk - who makes a surprise appearance at the promoter's press call

- Alex Pattl

Frank Warren has brought props. As he gently settles into a brown leather chair in the lobby of a hotel by London Bridge station, he unfurls two pieces of paper. "These aren't mine," he says. "They're from The Sun."

On each piece of paper is a photograph of Daniel Dubois, burrowing his right glove into the body of Oleksandr Usyk in their 2023 title fight. Or into the Ukrainian’s groin, depending on whom you ask. Because no matter what method of argument Warren uses, there will always be those who agree with the official ruling: that his fighter’s intended body shot landed low, and that Usyk’s timeout was justified. Either way, the rest is history, and it tells us Usyk eventually resumed fighting and stopped Dubois.

On 19 July, at Wembley Stadium, Dubois will get the chance to leave no doubt. He gets his rematch with the unbeaten Usyk, the unified heavyweight champion who will try to take the IBF belt from the Briton and become a two-time undisputed king.

By now, you likely know the stories of both men: of Usyk’s cruiserweight dominance and heavyweight supremacy, and of accusations that Dubois was a quitter before his remarkable career rebirth. But what specifically differentiates this Dubois, 27, from the even younger man who was stopped by Usyk in Poland?