Oleksandr Usyk reunites with former trainer who is now 'secret weapon' in Daniel Dubois' team
Oleksandr Usyk does not seem bothered by the fact that his former trainer James Ali Bashir has joined up with Dubois.
Bashir is best known for having worked alongside legendary trainer Emmanuel Steward, as he helped train fighters such as Wladimir Klitschko and Lennox Lewis, and he also guided Usyk to becoming a cruiserweight world champion.
But, the pair split after working together for three years and now Bashir has been drafted in by Dubois' trainer, Don Charles, as a 'secret weapon' for the British heavyweight.
This could cause some tension with Usyk, but the Ukrainian is unfazed, as he saw Bashir at Thursday's press conference and ran over to greet him and the pair embraced.
In terms of what Bashir can bring to Dubois' camp, he told TNT Sports: "I knew he was a big, strong, youthful guy and my thinking is from watching him from afar that this guy is youthful and he has power.
"That's what you've got to go to the dance with. You can't go out there and out-think Oleksandr Usyk, he's a consummate professional and that's not going to happen.
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"So, you go out there and you use what god gave you, punching power and youth.
"He's eleven years younger and he's a very powerful guy. If he hits any heavyweight, not just Oleksandr Usyk, if he hits any heavyweight clean there's gonna be problems for the guy receiving the punch."
As for those who do not believe Dubois has what it takes to win, Bashir said: "Most of the people not giving him a chance have never boxed, they've never been in the ring, they don't know the logistics of boxing period.
"It's a tough fight, it's a very tough fight. Daniel has to use his youth and his punching power...
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"If he's throwing punches then he stands a good chance of knocking out Oleksandr Usyk, and in my mind that's the only way we win this fight, we need a knockout, we need to put him to sleep."
Listen to Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois for free on Saturday night, live and exclusive on talkSPORT.
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