Johnny Nelson predicts Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois ends in a KO
Johnny Nelson dismisses Brit's chances: "Usyk will stop Dubois in round eight or nine"
Former cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson expects Oleksandr Usyk to stop Daniel Dubois in the latter rounds of Saturday’s undisputed heavyweight title fight at Wembley Stadium.
Speaking to NewBettingOffers.co.uk, 58-year-old Nelson said: “Once you've been in the ring with Usyk once, he is very good at downloading the data. And the more Dubois tries to rush him, the more it suits Usyk.
“Dubois will have the crowd, and he will have to make things awkward for Usyk, make the fight unorthodox and get Usyk complaining to the referee. Dubois has almost got to play it a little bit dirty and make Usyk uncomfortable in the ring and take him out of his stride. But I reckon Usyk will stop Dubois in either rounds eight or nine.”
Sheffield's former WBO world cruiserweight champion Nelson then outlined what he feels Londoner Daniel Dubois needs to do to trouble the Ukrainian, highlighting the Brit’s physical attributes as his key assets.
“Oleksandr Usyk will have to weather a storm because Don Charles, Daniel Dubois’ coach, is a great tactician,” praised Nelson. “Charles will tell Dubois to sit on Usyk and not stand off him. Daniel's going to try and put it on him. It's going to be like a bull and a matador for the first two or three rounds until Dubois’ nervous energy slows down a little bit.
“Usyk has got to keep moving at 38 years old. He's got to be smart about his movement and in his energy reserves. He’ll pick and pop and then the popping will become bashing and then bashing will become banging. Timing is everything. It'll be a slow offload for Usyk, but Dubois is going to have to hope that the two things he’s got in his favour work out before Usyk gets into a rhythm, which are pace and strength.
“Usyk said there's no point in being able to hit hard if there's nothing to hit, and that's exactly what it this fight will be about. Dubois’ power is great, and there have been many heavy-handed fighters through the years, but it means nothing if you can't hit anything – that's why Daniel's tactics have got to be smart.”
