Oleksandr Usyk will not make an ‘impossible’ return to cruiserweight, says Daniel Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren | Boxing news
Oleksandr Usyk will not leave the heavyweight division to seek more recognition at cruiserweight, Frank Warren insists.
Usyk, the previously undisputed cruiserweight champion, became undisputed in the heavyweight division when he defeated Tyson Fury last May and remains undefeated after winning a rematch with Fury last month.
The Ukrainian previously suggested that he might return to the cruiserweight division later.
But Frank Warren, who promotes Daniel Dubois, the new holder of the IBF heavyweight belt, was not convinced.
“He won’t. Look at his size, it’s impossible,” Warren said Sky Sports.
Usyk has not boxed at cruiserweight since 2018, and now he is well established in the heavyweight division. He has always weighed over 220 pounds for his last five fights.
“You just have to look at his size, it’s not going to happen,” said Warren, who expects Usyk to box the winner of Dubois’ Feb. 22 IBF title fight with Joseph Parker.
The most lucrative fight, Warren pointed out “for him [is] the winner of this. Great fight, great fight.”
Warren is backing Britain’s Dubois to overcome his next challenger, the in-form New Zealander Parker.
“I’ll be confident after the fight. I believe in him, that’s why we fought, but anything can happen with these big guys. They’re big balls. They drop bombs, those two,” said the promoter.
“It’s not like Parker is a rookie. He’s been there, he’s done it, he’s a world champion. He’s in the game right now. You see he’s got the heart of a fighter in that fight with [Zhilei] Zhang. He was on the floor twice in that fight, but he still gritted his teeth and got through.”
Dubois boxed Usyk in 2023 when he was stopped in nine rounds. In that fight, Usyk visited the canvas himself, but because of a low blow. He took the allotted time to recover and stood up to then stop the Briton.
But it still convinced Warren that Dubois had the victory over the unified champion.
“I honestly still believe he would have beaten Usyk if it wasn’t for what was going on in his head at the time with the referee,” the promoter said. “All those four minute breaks. He would jump on him.
“Was it a low kick? I don’t think it was a low kick, some people think it was. But the bottom line is four minutes when [Usyk] I wanted to fight alone, but the judge said that he needed more time.”
However, now, after knocking out Anthony Joshua in just five rounds in September, Dubois has matured into a dangerous world champion.
“90 percent of it is mental,” Warren said. “It took time. He had a few hiccups along the way, but you look at the fights he had and what he did – he learned.
“He’s a very young guy. He’s matured mentally, which is very important. He’s got skills. He’s comfortable with [trainer] Don Charles, who has done a brilliant job with him and this is his time.”
Warren believes that by the end of this year, Dubois, not Usyk, will be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
“If he goes through this and fights Usyk…” Warren said, “…I think [he will be].”
