Oleksandr Usyk has admitted to having a hidden weakness ahead of his rematch with Daniel Dubois at London’s Wembley Stadium on July 19.

The heavyweight pair first faced off in Wroclaw, Poland, back in 2023 in a contest that was not short of controversy. Dubois struck Usyk with a shot to the beltline in the fifth round, causing Usyk to fall to his knees in pain.

The referee ruled that the punch was low and gave Ukraine’s Usyk more than three minutes to recover from the shot. Usyk then went on to outclass London’s Dubois, eventually stopping him in Round 9.

Dubois’ team was furious after the contest, believing that the punch in Round 5 was legal and that Usyk should have been counted out by the referee. They lodged an unsuccessful appeal with the WBA.

Heading into the rematch, Dubois promoter Frank Warren has claimed that Usyk has a weakness to the body and that his man should target that area. Usyk admitted that he has a weakness – but it’s not what Warren thinks.

“Yes, I have a weakness, but no one knows about this weakness except me,” Usyk told select members of the media. “So I have a weakness, but no one will ever know about this weakness apart from me. I will never say it to anybody. So that weakness is hidden in an egg, and the egg is hidden in a dog, and the dog is hidden in a ... in a dragon.”

Dubois, the IBF heavyweight titleholder, may be capable of exposing that vulnerability. He has excelled in his past three performances, dismantling and stopping Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and two-time world belt holder Anthony Joshua – the latter an achievement even Usyk could not do in two attempts, settling for a pair of decision wins over “AJ.”

“I never think about my opponents, but I understand that they are very serious fighters,” said Usyk. “And I always ... I don't underestimate them. And when I train for them, I train seriously. In training, we have fun and make jokes, but we are all very, very serious. And even if there are moments that I wouldn't want to do certain things, or I would be tired, I would put even more effort into the training that day. And every person in the camp, if they think that they can't do certain things, they must do them. Because I am doing it.”