The pair will clash in an undisputed world title fight at Wembley Stadium in July but the Ukrainian believes that the Brit pushing him shows that he is still mentally fragile.

Asked if his rival had changed his mindset since the pair first fought in 2023, Usyk told BBC Sport: "Mentally no, push is a weakness."

Usyk stopped Dubois in the ninth round when the pair clashed two years ago and the former believes that his rival has improved since, as he has gone on to secure the IBF world title belt.

The undefeated fighter said: "I think he has, Daniel wins the IBF belt, has beaten three good fighters. He is a world champion, a hard man, a dangerous man."

Dubois says his decision to push Usyk is a result of the fearless approach he is taking to the bout.

The British pugilist said: "It's a new me, the fear of acting in a particular way is not there any more, now I need to just do what I need to do, this is the fight game, this is boxing."

Dubois felt he was hard done by when a punch that floored Usyk during their 2023 fight was deemed a low blow by the referee but says that he learned a lot from the painful experience.

The boxer added: "It will feel even better when it's done, when I have knocked him out and won. Put the demons to bed and put right what went wrong."