Dave Allen had had his say on Oleksandr Usyk’s upcoming fight with Daniel Dubois.
Allen is a popular British heavyweight who is riding high off his knockout win over Johnny Fisher last time out. He has been around the sport for some time, including sparring Usyk four years ago in preparation for his fight with Anthony Joshua – training that would see him retire from the sport after suffering a concussion.
Since then, Usyk has continued to sweep aside all challengers in the heavyweight division, including Tyson Fury twice to become undisputed, and before that, Dubois, whom he beat by KO in the ninth round back in August 2023.
However, that fight was not without controversy as ‘DDD’ had the Ukrainian down with an attempted body shot that was ruled low, so Usyk was given plenty of time to recover.
Dubois – who ‘snapped the neck back’ of Allen in sparring when he was 18 – has improved considerably since then, with three wins all coming by way of knockout versus Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua last time out in September.
Speaking to talkSPORT Boxing, Allen made his prediction for the fight and much of it was based on his belief that Usyk is not naturally big enough to fight in the banner division, despite proving himself time and again.
“I don’t think he’s a heavyweight at all, he could fight at cruiserweight still now. I just think this is the right time for Daniel Dubois to beat Usyk and become the undisputed champion. I think it’s the timing. Daniel Dubois is getting better with every fight, and he’s improving dramatically.”
Whoever comes out on top will be in possession of all four major belts but will soon have to turn their attention to defences against mandatory challengers, the first of which is Joseph Parker.
