David Haye believes the smoothest and possibly only route to an undisputed world heavyweight title fight is by Daniel Dubois pulling off a major upset against Oleksandr Usyk this weekend. Usyk, the WBA, IBF and WBO champion, will take on mandatory challenger Dubois in Wroclaw, Poland, on Saturday after negotiations for a showdown against WBC belt holder Tyson Fury broke down earlier this year. Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder were also at an impasse when they held the major world titles, with Lennox Lewis the last recognised undisputed champion in the division nearly a quarter of a century ago. Competing interests have often got in the way, but Haye pointed out Dubois and Fury are both represented by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and argued a fight between the duo should be simpler to make. Haye told the PA news agency: “It feels like we’ve had three or four opportunities where the fighters with the belts could have come together and done a deal. For whatever reason, it hasn’t materialised. “We’re in a position where if Dubois wins on Saturday night, one promotional entity holds the champions of all of the belts – there would never be an easier time, politically, to make the undisputed fight. “If Usyk wins, is Tyson Fury ever going to fight Usyk? I don’t know. For one reason or another, it doesn’t seem like it’s gelling. If it hasn’t happened by now, is it going to happen? Probably not. “We want to know who’s number one. If Dubois wins then that makes it possible and the fight fans finally, after all of these years, will have one champion with all of the belts.” Haye recognises Dubois has a mountainous challenge ahead of him, with Usyk a prohibitive favourite to retain his world titles and extend his unblemished professional record to 21 wins from as many bouts. Usyk’s dazzling footwork and blurring hand speed from a southpaw stance has led to many suggesting the heavy-handed Dubois has just a puncher’s chance despite having height and weight advantages. However, Haye feels Dubois (19-1, 18 knockouts) has nothing to lose and that his learning curves in a loss to Joe Joyce in 2020 and having to get up off the canvas three times before stopping the lightly-regarded Kevin Lerena last December are hugely beneficial for the Londoner’s chances heading into this weekend. Haye, who alongside Usyk and Evander Holyfield are the only fighters to have won world cruiserweight and heavyweight titles, added: “I like the fact there’s no pressure on Dubois whatsoever. “He’s got everything to gain. Nobody is expecting him to be able to cause an upset here. He has the firepower, all he needs is one punch, one clean shot. “He had a very interesting fight against Kevin Lerena where he was put down early from a southpaw who was a former cruiserweight. “He understands that he’s bigger and stronger but he can be hurt, that was the best thing for him because it gives him the reality of what he’s putting himself in [when he takes on Usyk]. “It looks from the outside like a mission impossible but I’m liking what I’m hearing from him – he’s talking about making it rough and uncomfortable for Usyk and that’s exactly what he needs to do. “He may get dropped or hurt or some facial damage but he’s going to need to work through that to get to the promised land if he wants an opportunity to seriously gatecrash the heavyweight division.” Watch Usyk v Dubois exclusively live on TNT Sports Box Office on Saturday 26 August. Learn more at www.tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Underdog Daniel Dubois looks back in bid to take big step forward Iain Henderson wants Ireland team-mates to prove they deserve World Cup spot Eddie Howe urges Bruno Guimaraes to learn from social media criticism

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As football fans across the globe gear up for the Women’s World Cup, some of the biggest names in the game including England captain Leah Williamson will be absent because of a wave of ACL injuries which has rocked the sport in recent years. It is a common sight in the women’s game when clubs and countries are forced to announce that their biggest stars will be out for months on end. Williamson ruptured her ACL – or anterior cruciate ligament – in April, and will miss the World Cup as a result. Other stars to miss the tournament are England’s Beth Mead and the Netherlands striker Vivianne Miedema, who both suffered the injury in November. Canada's Janine Beckie and the USA’s Catarina Macario are in the same boat. The issue also blighted the Euros last summer, as Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas missed the tournament after rupturing her ACL days before the opening game. Northern Ireland’s Simone Magill was also ruled out, along with France striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who had been one of the favourites to win the Euro 2022 Golden Boot. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But what is this injury, and why are so many women’s footballers getting it? A recurring problem The ACL is a small band of connective tissue in the centre of the knee. It can tear during routine activities like jumping. Any athlete that gets it faces surgery followed by six-to-12 months of rehab. Men also sustain ACL injuries – the likes of Virgil Van Dyke and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are high-profile examples in recent years – but it is more prominent in the women’s game. Speaking to Sky Sports last year, female health specialist Dr Emma Ross said: “We know female athletes are up to six times more likely to have a non-contact ACL injury than their male counterparts.” “In sport and exercise science research, only about 6 per cent of the studies are done exclusively on females – meaning they study things that are happening to the female body – so we don't have a lot of research on female athletes. “But what we do know about the menstrual cycle and injury is that the changing hormones across the cycle can impact the physiology and biomechanics of the body. “For example, when oestrogen is elevated in the menstrual cycle, and that happens in about the second week, it can affect the stability of joints. It can interfere with the collagen in our joints and it can create looser, more lax joints. A loose joint is therefore less stable and more inclined to injury. “So we do have some information about loose joints, but what we don't have is the end step of whether that really does increase the risk for injury in female athletes.” ‘Please no more’ Meanwhile, the workload for elite women’s footballers has grown because of the spiralling popularity of the game. Top players can play up to 44 matches a year, while three out of every four summers there is a major tournament, whether it is the Olympics, Euros or World Cup. The game has grown more professional in lockstep with the ever-busier schedules in recent years, with more Premier League clubs than ever pouring significant cash into their women’s teams. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur spent a combined £33m on running their women’s football teams in the year to July 2022. Nonetheless, it remains lightyears behind the men’s game in terms of funding. The teams paid £186m to agents for men’s team transfers in the same season, according to the Telegraph. There are other factors at play too – women’s feet are significantly different from men’s in shape and size, and experts are concerned that ill-fitting boots could be contributing to the wave of injuries. Sports rehabilitation expert Dr Katrine Okholm Kryger told Sky Sports that “we know that women have a two to five times higher risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries”, which affect the knee. Many of the major manufacturers are developing women's specific boots which should be available for the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023, but Dr Okholm Kryger said the lack of available football boots is a general concern. She said she hopes to start a discussion and “kindly nudge manufacturers and research towards the need to pay more attention in this area”. Until they listen, the problem could continue depriving women’s football of its biggest stars. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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