Daniel Dubois will play loveable underdog role against Oleksandr Usyk

Dubois is a hugely watchable heavyweight, with real, visceral power in his fists, a great work ethic, and with something just a little tender about him

SET FOR BATTLE: Daniel Dubois during a media workout at Bermondsey Boxing Club, London ahead of his fight with world title fight with Oleksandr Usyk. Pic: PA

For all the many gifts of Daniel Dubois, a world heavyweight contender this weekend, and a hugely likable pure sporting talent, it is hard not to find yourself circling back to the press-ups. As first trailed in a fascinating 2019 interview with Donald McRae in The Guardian, the teenage Dubois would regularly settle down and do between three and five hours of press-ups.

Really: five. No water, no food, just press-ups. It seems useful to put that in a real-world context. If, for example, Dubois were to start doing press-ups in your living room as you left for a half day at school – bus ride, registration, lessons, morning break, sandwich lunch – he would still be there doing press-ups as you opened the front door again.