Daniel Dubois must replicate Anthony Joshua ploy on Oleksandr Usyk in his 'one chance'

The odds may be stacked against Daniel Dubois in his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk. But boxing icon Johnny Nelson has identified one route to a potential upset.

The former king of the cruiserweight division believes following the same game plan that led to his vicious knockout win over Anthony Joshua will be the key. Dubois, 27, has already lost to Usyk once in 2023 when he was stopped in controversial fashion, having floored the Ukrainian with a body shot that was deemed too low.

Following an appeal over that decision, he has since surged back into form and clinched the IBF world heavyweight title before finishing Joshua in September 2024.

READ MORE: Man Utd see two transfers worth £100m agreed as decision made on ex-star returning

READ MORE: Daniel Dubois sent brutal message by Carl Froch ahead of Oleksandr Usyk rematch

Despite that fifth-round upset, 'Dynamire' still hasn't been backed to avenge his Usyk defeat, at least according to the bookmakers. But Nelson, who held the WBO cruiserweight belt from 1999 to 2006, believes an upset can't be ruled out – however unlikely it may be.

"I think Daniel Dubois has one chance and that's a puncher's chance," Nelson exclusively told Mirror Fighting, courtesy of NewBettingOffers.co.uk. "And anybody and everybody will know that he has a puncher's chance. And he had a great puncher's chance with Anthony Joshua. And once he got him once, that's how that punch did it for him.

"Against Oleksandr Usyk, Usyk technically is superior to every other heavyweight currently out there. And Daniel Dubois has got a puncher's chance."

Dubois came out guns blazing when he faced Joshua last year, successfully taking the Olympian by surprise at Wembley. He successfully knocked AJ down at the end of the first, third and fourth rounds before finally capitalising and putting him down for good in the fifth.

It would be folly to believe the exact same strategy would have the same effect on Usyk, a former cruiserweight and far wilier opponent by comparison. After all, Usyk has already unified the heavyweight division once by using his smaller frame and advantage in speed, beating the likes of Joshua and Tyson Fury twice apiece himself.

That being said, 'The Cat' is nearing the end of his boxing lifespan after suggesting his date with Dubois will be his penultimate fight. And that admission could work in favour of the much younger Dubois should his opponent be lacking in commitment at all.

"So when Usyk's talking about retirement, now that seed has started to grow. Once you start talking about it publicly, the seed has started to grow," added Nelson. "And again, he might really mean it, but in years to come, when he has walked away, [he'll] be thinking, 'Maybe I'll just come back for one more.'

"[Wladimir] Klitschko, he was thinking about doing it last year! You'd never think these guys would do it, but you just think, 'One [fight].' So with Usyk talking about it, I do believe he's probably thinking, 'I'm tired, I want to enjoy the trappings of my success.'"

It's only right that Usyk should get to do so given his exploits in the ring. He has successfully put himself in the conversation as one of boxing's best heavyweights of all time after such rampant success following his step up in weight.

But as he prepares to turn 39 in January, it's only natural the veteran's thoughts turn to retirement. And while his appetite to succeed in the ring may be as ravenous as ever, Dubois' edge in physicality (and possibly fitness) could turn the result in his favour this time around.

Anyone familiar with Dynamite's ability will know the Londoner, who has earned 21 of his 22 fights by knockout, has the stopping power necessary to finish anyone on his day. And for that reason, Nelson cannot rule the IBF titleholder lout altogether as he seeks to do what the likes of Fury and Joshua could not (twice).