The misleading narrative of Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois

It is the hardest week in the boxing life and times of Daniel Dubois.

On Saturday night, at an outdoor venue in Poland, he will walk to the ring first and listen as nearly 40,000 cheer for Ukrainian fighting and boxing idol Oleksandr Usyk.

It is a unique set of events, a world heavyweight title fight packed with emotion and pride for Usyk and the millions of Ukrainians living in Poland or close to the border. It is a homecoming made necessary away from home, a vital piece of resistance in the bloody war.

Usyk will be fighting closer to his Kyiv home than he has in eight years; the 36-year-old, remember, won his cruiserweight world titles on the road in Poland, Latvia and Russia. He defended the belts against local fighters in Germany, America and England. He is a boxing treasure, unbeaten now in 20 fights, an Olympic gold medalist, a volunteer in the Ukraine defence force. He might just be changing the dictionary definition of ‘national idol’.

In late 2021, he won the three heavyweight belts that he still holds by beating Anthony Joshua at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, fewer than 15 miles from where Joshua lives. The fight on Saturday in Wroclaw is the Usyk homecoming, make no mistake. His fans can take a bus for less than 20 quid from Kyiv to Wroclaw; it takes 18 hours, but that makes it even more of a pilgrimage to watch a national hero fight. And they will come. The beautiful gothic city on the Oder River will be overrun this weekend. The flags will be out.

Dubois will finally, for the first time in his short but intense boxing life, have no pressure on his shoulders. The 25-year-old will start as the underdog for the first time in 21 fights. He turned professional in 2017 when he was just a wide-eyed teenager; his progression was deceptive, and he was made to feel invincible against many men who had no chance. In 2020, there was a bad, bad night behind closed doors and under Covid restrictions.

Dubois was unbeaten in 15 fights at the time and was matched with Joe Joyce, who was also unbeaten. Dubois had stopped or knocked out 14 of his 15 victims. It was a spectacular fight with Joyce, a spectacular mistake, and Dubois – in front on two scorecards – took a knee in Round 10. His left cheekbone was damaged, his vision gone from that eye, and his resistance broken. It was harsh, a reminder that even in modern boxing there are real dangers.

It was not over, and Dubois was made again – a bit smarter, a bit wiser and a better heavyweight for the loss. He changed trainers, moved from Martin Bowers to Shane McGuigan. Since the Joyce defeat, Dubois has fought and won four times, stopping his men in the second, first, fourth and third rounds. A couple of months ago, at about the time the Usyk fight was agreed, Dubois left McGuigan and joined Don Charles, an underrated and cute trainer.

The fight’s simple – but misleading – narrative seems to be that Dubois has a puncher’s chance; well, all heavyweights have a puncher’s chance. Anthony Joshua went 24 rounds with Usyk, and he most definitely had a puncher’s chance. To beat Usyk, you need far more than a puncher’s chance. Thankfully, Charles understands the game.

“You have to be busy, you have to make him fight, you have to make it physical, and Daniel can do that,” Charles said. The pair seem to have bonded very quickly.

In 2012, Charles took Derek Chisora to Munich to fight world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, who was a knockout machine. “Del Boy” lost on points, but he applied pressure, got close, whacked away, and dealt with the partisan crowd.

The WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight belts are the official prizes, and the fight went to purse bids; Dubois will clear about $2m on the night. However, the real prize is in the upset and the cash windfall that will land with the disruption caused.

Don Charles can help Dubois on Saturday. And Dubois will need all the help he can get to silence the crowd and hurt Usyk.