Daniel Dubois may not even realise it, but it's he who has resorted to mind games in his rivalry with physiological warfare supremo Oleksandr Usyk.

With a Wembley Stadium rematch for the undisputed heavyweight titles booked in for July 19, Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) stands on the precipice of boxing immortality, something he perhaps considered beyond his reach after their first fight 18 months ago ended in a ninth-round stoppage loss.

Destructive knockout victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua in the aftermath to that crushing defeat in Poland have put Dubois right back at the top of the tree, where he now holds a piece of heavyweight silverware with the IBF belt.

Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) has often played the master manipulator throughout his career. It's become almost impossible to break the Ukrainian, and if you find yourself in a face-off with him you can completely forget about being the last man staring.

This time around, armed with the notion their August 2023 contest played out unfairly after Low-blowgate, Dubois looks to be taking it upon himself to orchestrate the mental battle.

"They might have played the crowd and got out of it," he says in response to claims from his trainer Don Charles that Usyk is a cheater. "Being in Poland and having the judges and everything on his side ...

"But regardless of that, I want my team to make up a stir to irritate him. I want them to say that. They've got to say that. I'm paying them to say that," he adds in defiance as he and those present in the room burst into laughter.

Since the conclusion of Usyk's unanimous decision win over Tyson Fury in December, Dubois has made it his personal mission to rattle the man who can't be rattled.

Minutes after the scorecards were read out on that night in Riyadh, Dubois jumped into the ring, interrupted Usyk's post-fight interview and demanded a rematch right after his 38-year-old adversary had finished an emotional speech about his son.

When the pair met pitchside at Wembley on Monday to promote their just-announced summer showdown, Dubois put his hands on Usyk, shoving him before the face-off could end, biting on a feint in the process.

"I didn't expect that to [rattle him] really," Dubois says.

"You know these Ukrainians, they do all this mind work and mind control stuff. I just need to be right, physically, spiritually, and that will be enough on the night.

"Psychological warfare, innit? He's always into all that [mind stuff].

"I think he's a boring guy. He'll just be at home doing his mind s--t. But you've got to just beat him in the ring. It's all psychological.

"When they feel the real pain and the heat, then you can break through that. With the power of God on your side, you can do anything.

"I don't think he can handle the pain or the heat that I'm going to bring. I'm going to just step up and win. That's the whole game plan, win."

Nevertheless, Dubois is laser-focused on completing a job 21 opponents in 23 fights have failed to do.

Team Usyk made reference to the fact, in Tuesday's press conference, that Dubois is no longer a boy, but a man who has had to go to the well on at least two occasions since that night at the Wroclaw Stadium.

Dubois' promoter Frank Warren also spoke of the need to toughen his man up following the loss.

But now it all seems to be coming together at the perfect time for the 27-year-old.

"I have a lot of confidence and I've just set my mind to just win," Dubois exclaims.

"Just doing the work, having faith and improving, learning from the past. Just being bold like a lion, learning from having my dad there supporting me, he got me through a lot of it, having a good foundation as well.

"They can try and pull any strings they want, but it's now going to be on home turf, I'm a man of the future."