Despite the best efforts of those around them, heavyweights Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois refused to talk too much about the reason they are fighting again at this afternoon’s "launch" press conference in London.

There was mention of “cheating”, and “lying”, and “twenty Dubois low blows”, and yet none of it came from the mouth of either Usyk or Dubois – the only two men on stage who really mattered. Instead, it was left to the host of the press conference, the promoter, the managers, and the trainers to beat this particular drum – over and over again – and ignore the fact that it made no noise and rang a little hollow. The speeches rang hollow, the printed pictures of Dubois landing low blows rang hollow, and even the so-called controversy of it all – the very reason for the rematch – rang hollow.

Perhaps, given the one-sided nature of the first fight, this is the single way a rematch between the pair could ever be sold. Yet, even if that’s the case, there is already a sense of fatigue, especially on the part of the two fighters involved, both of whom would rather focus on the future and all that can be achieved on July 19.

“It’s in the past now; it’s happened,” said Dubois, the IBF heavyweight champion stopped by Usyk inside nine rounds in 2023. “I get the chance to put that wrong right and clear up the controversy. There’s a lot of shit being talked right now but I can’t wait to put him to sleep on the night. 

“I think I’m on fire now. I’m pent-up and ready to go. It’s going to be a bloodbath. I’m going to put all the controversy and nonsense to rest and show I am the man of the future. 

“He’ll be doing a funny dance in the ring when I hit him.”

Dubois’ frustration and impatience came as no surprise. By the time he spoke he had listened to numerous people try to use the low blows as little more than promotion, or an attempt to go viral, and had even witnessed the son of his trainer stand up in the media section and engage Usyk in a conversation about illegal punches and the potential of a street fight. This came hot on the heels of yesterday’s confrontation between Usyk and Don Charles’ son, which was of course filmed, and represented yet another meandering and frankly mind-numbing subplot for a fight too good to stoop so low. 

“I don’t think about these people,” said Usyk, the world heavyweight champion. “It’s just talking. A lot of people said, ‘Hey, listen, you won’t take belts at heavyweight, you won’t take four belts at cruiserweight.’ But do you know what I said to them? ‘We’ll see.’ 

“For me, it doesn’t matter. It’s my road. Just my road.”

Usyk ended his speech by saying, “Blah, blah, blah.” He then repeated this phrase whenever somebody loosely connected to the fight started to talk about anything other than the fight – the next one – on July 19.