Fury Should Be Stripped, Dubois Senses Usyk’s Fear And More

Tyson Fury should be stripped of his WBC title. 

That is according to Oleksandr Usyk’s manager, Alex Krassyuk. Those comments were made following Usyk’s pre-fight presser with Daniel Dubois. This was in relation to reports that Fury could face Francis Ngannou in his next fight.

And with reports that the bout could be an exhibition, those waiting in the wings for a title shot could be made to wait a little longer including Usyk.

The Ukrainian was in talks for an undisputed fight with Fury in April at Wembley. So much so that the unified heavyweight champion had agreed to a 70-30 split.

While those talks have broken down, the attempts at securing a mandatory for Fury have also been far from productive. The WBC had ordered Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr. to face each other in a WBC title eliminator.

But given that both fighters have been unable to agree to a bout, that has left the WBC belt in limbo. In addition, the presser was quite telling given that Frank Warren was absent.

Although his absence was justified on the basis of other commitments, the fact of the matter is that team Usyk and Fury have butted heads over who has been to blame for the breakdown in talks.

And rather than leaving anything to chance, or have the presser dominated about questions over Fury in a fight where Dubois should be the focus, perhaps it was a strategic move by Warren. 

But in any event, Krassyuk has demanded action. 

“Fight? You call that a fight? It’s a performance, an exhibition, it’s not a fight. The fight is when you have the undisputed heavyweight title at stake, that’s a fight.

“When you’re fighting Ngannou, you’re earning money and entertaining the public, that’s all. He’s not actually breaking any rules of the WBC, but from a pure sports point of view he has to be stripped because he stays inactive for so long and he’s cheating people, announcing fights that don’t take place,” Krassyuk

Dubois On Usyk’s Fear

Aside from those comments, Usyk’s opponent Dubois was in a confident mood heading into the bout. The Brit expanded on how he had recovered from his knee injury which he sustained in his last fight against Kevin Lerena.

Despite hitting the canvas three times, Dubois defied the odds and the injury to stop his opponent. And heading into the fight the WBA ‘regular’ champion was confident that he could get a win over Usyk. 

“I’ve just had a good look at him, his size and everything, and I’m ready for the challenge ahead. I’m ready to take those belts. 

“They’re all writing me off, I’m the underdog and all that but time will show, and I’ll come out on top. I saw fear. I know he’s a great champion, but we’re coming, and we’re coming to make history,” Dubois  

Nevertheless, the social media reaction suggested otherwise. A large proportion of the boxing community favored the Ukrainian to come out on top.

The rationale behind it was the lack of difference in size. Despite Dubois being labelled as a lot bigger, when it came to the actual face off, fans were not too impressed by the size difference.

And this was reflected in the comments that followed on social media. 

“Size difference doesn’t even look that significant here. Usyk going to do some truly horrible things to the bloke.”

“The ‘size difference’ is overstated. Usyk is going to be weighing in 15-20lbs lighter than Daniel but when you’ll see them both in the ring they won’t look far apart.”

“I think people are misled by the size of Usyk and label him as being small. He is 6ft 3ins which is more than a good size for any division.”

Usyk’s Home Crowd

Just as Dubois is looking to make history, so is Usyk. The Ukrainian will be fighting in Poland, which has become his country’s second home following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

And given that boxing has not made a return to the latter nation, Usyk will have the support of the full crowd behind him. And in order to get those supporters on side, tickets are reportedly as cheap as $12.

That is bound to increase the turnout and dispel suggestions that the Ukrainian was demanding too much money which then led to the breakdown in talks with Fury. 

In truth, both fighters know the opportunity at stake. Victory for Usyk keeps his hopes alive of becoming undisputed champion.

Meanwhile, a win for Dubois not only grants him his first world title but a chance at making history.

With that being said, the fight cannot come soon enough. Time will tell how it all plays out moving forward come fight night.

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