Dubois vows to put Usyk to sleep on July 19 as Ukrainian is branded a cheat at fiery press conference

Daniel Dubois has promised to put Oleksandr Usyk to sleep amidst a fiery first press conference ahead of the July 19 undisputed heavyweight championship showdown between the pair at Wembley Stadium.

The Londoner was in no mood for pleasantries a he was short and sweet in his vow to avenge his disputed defeat to the pound-for-pound superstar in the English capital this summer.

"I have the chance to right that wrong now and cut out all of the controversy. There is a lot of s*** being talked about now, but I can't wait to put him to sleep on July 19," the 27-year-old boldly predicted.

Usyk reigned supreme in the first fight, in August 2023, securing a ninth round stoppage success to retain his world titles, although the bout was steeped in controversy.

A heavy Dubois body shot dropped the Ukrainian to his knees in the fifth round only for the referee to deem it an illegal low blow, and thus allowing Usyk five minutes to recover before he stepped on the gas and closed the show out in emphatic fashion.

The topic understandably formed large parts of Tuesday's opening press conference in London, with Dubois' trainer, Don Charles, going as far as accusing former undisputed heavyweight king Usyk of cheating his way to victory.

"It's my opinion, but I was two meters from the incident, and the man I saw on his knees (Usyk), his central nervous system was shut down," the 62-year-old said.

"He was trembling, and at no point did he grab the area that was supposed to have been hit. If you are hit down there your automatic reaction is to go straight down there, and he never did that.

There's absolutely no way that Usyk would have made the 10 count, he conned the referee and so many other people... he cheated!

"Every time Daniel hit his body he stopped and pointed to hid body to basically condition the referee prior to the actual punch that landed in the fifth round.

"The referee is only a human being and he panicked. Remember Oleksandr Usyk is a great fighter, and when you get to a certain level in any sport you get a degree of protection, or favouritsm, and in my opinion, the referee panicked."

Dubois has previously reiterated his own stance on the incident, claiming his shot was a legal body shot, yet despite that, he refused to be drawn into a war of words regarding a matter that he wants to put firmly in the past.

"I do (believe it was a legal shot), but that is in the past now - its happened and I have moved on," he told the packed out press conference.

"I am a different fighter now, I am on fire and I am ready to go. It's going to be a bloodbath, and I am going to put the controversy and all of that nonsense to rest and prove that I am the man of the future.

Dubois added: "I believe I will knock him out!"

Mark Mothershaw

• Oleksandr Usyk
• Queensberry
• Riyadh Season
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