McGuigan: Usyk fight was a mistake for Dubois

During the Saturday fight Daniel Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs) with Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 4 KOs) for the first time Don Charles worked in the corner of the Brit, who replaced Shane McGuigan. The former coach, with whom Dubois won the WBA "regular" belt and the status of a contender for the WBA heavyweight throne, believes that his former fighter should not have been released at such a young age against such a strong opponent as Usyk, and definitely not immediately after a tough fight with Lerena and injuries.

“I would definitely demand a much smaller ring and also put more pressure on the referee during the fight. But let's start with the fact that as Daniel's coach, I would not want this fight at all. He is only 25 and he is still learning. Some believed that he could defeat Usyk with one blow and they could earn a lot of money from it. Because if Daniel wins, he can be controlled and put up against Fury, but Usyk cannot be controlled. But recently, Daniel had to undergo surgery on his knee. He couldn't fight Usyk with the confidence he had before. In the previous fight, he was counted out three times, he was not sure about his knee and whether the injury would repeat. In my opinion, accepting this fight was a mistake. Someone took a risk that didn't pay off. I just hope Daniel comes back and learns from this situation and the fight. Let's see how it turns out," McGuigan said.

Recall that Dubois knelt down at the end of the eighth round and listened to the referee count to eight. In the ninth round, Usyk won an early victory, successfully defending the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight belts.