Tucked deep away in a lavish hospitality suite at London's Wembley Stadium, Oleksandr Usyk sits forward in his chair and sports a manic grin as he's asked, for the umpteenth time, about the low blow Daniel Dubois landed on him 18 months ago.

It's put to The Ring, WBC, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion that, 24 hours earlier, promoter Frank Warren claimed the Ukrainian 'doesn't like it to the body'.

The fact is, Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) has been hit with hundreds of body shots across his 23-fight career, and bar the obvious controversy which clouded his first fight with now IBF heavyweight champion Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs), he's yet to wilt after receiving one.

"I have a weakness, but no one will ever know what that weakness is apart from me," he says while mimicking an evil laugh. "And I will never say anything to anybody.

"The weakness is hidden in an egg, the egg is hidden in a dog, and the dog is hidden in a dragon. So it's impossible to find it."

An hour before Usyk's chat with the British boxing press pack, in an equally plush suite a few doors down, Dubois, who Usyk will fight on July 19 for a second time, also stirs the pot regarding body shots and low blows.

"I got through with that shot," the 27-year-old said. "It was a punch from the gods.

Usyk sighs when he's told about it.

"God bless you, Daniel, God bless you, bro. He shouldn't have said that."

Usyk, who talks of his motivation to become a three-time undisputed champion, twice at heavyweight and once at cruiserweight, seemingly looks and sounds fed up that Dubois, a man he dropped and stopped in nine rounds, has morphed into an asterisk on his record.

Before Dubois, Usyk won and defended the heavyweight titles in two fights with Brit superstar Anthony Joshua. After Dubois, he earned undisputed status and retained that honour in a pair of duels with Tyson Fury, another iconic figure on these shores.

All of that while his home country Ukraine was, and still is, ravaged by war following Russia's initial invasion in February 2022.

In Usyk's mind, however, the issues his countrymen face have neither affected his career nor spurred him on to be better than he already is.

"Everything that is happening to me was written way before I was born," he says. "I'm accepting everything from God, everything that he gives me.

"I dream too because when I go to sleep, I say, 'hey father, thank you so much, today will be a great day'. Give me tomorrow an opportunity to wake up and go to work.

"A lot of people have money, have car, but it's less. They say 'hey, listen, I want more, more, more, they should say 'I have car, I have watch, I have house. Thank you, God'."

"I say today 'thank you, thank you, God, because you give me a chance, give me time, give me power'. Boxing is my life, but it's not all my life. My life is Jesus, but boxing is a gift, as is my family, my team, you all."

Usyk considers boxing a gift not worth giving up just yet, either. At the age of 38, there's nothing else for him to achieve beyond a second victory over Dubois, which will also nab him that third undisputed crown. But the fire continues to burn.

"'Hey you win undisputed, cruiserweight, heavyweight, maybe you stop?'," he adds.

"No, listen, why stop? My mama doesn't want me to continue boxing. But I say, 'hey mama, you want to eat? Yeah, I must go to work'."