Daniel Dubois has missed out on a blockbuster fight with Joseph Parker at the last minute for an unbelievable reason, but he is almost certain to receive a classic heavyweight title unification match with Oleksandr Usyk.
Daniel Dubois was unable to compete in the most anticipated boxing event of the first quarter of this year, The Last Crescendo, which took place last weekend. The 27-year-old British boxer was forced to withdraw less than 48 hours before his scheduled fight with Joseph Parker for an unbelievable and mysterious reason: he was… sick.
Unable to defend his prestigious IBF heavyweight title, Dubois lost nearly $10 million in earnings. However, there is a silver lining. With the IBF belt still in his possession, Dubois’ dream of a rematch with his senior Oleksandr Usyk is now gradually coming true.
In fact, it will be a new classic unification match that is extremely prestigious in world heavyweight boxing. In other words, it will be the biggest fight of his life for Dubois.
“It sounds a bit counterintuitive but the withdrawal (from the fight with Joseph Parker) has opened up a great opportunity for Dubois,” said famous promoter and manager of the British boxer, Frank Warren, referring to Dubois’s open door to fighting Usyk. Robert Smith, general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control, the unit responsible for coordinating the professional coordination of The Last Crescendo event, has decided that “Dubois could not fight last weekend due to illness”.
“Dubois was not licensed to fight last weekend, but this will certainly make it easier for him to prepare for the fight with Usyk”, Robert Smith declared.
Meanwhile, from the main character’s side, the first absolute heavyweight boxing world champion in the 4-belt era, Oleksandr Usyk also expressed his intention to “fight Dubois again and only Dubois”.
“I am enjoying life with my family after defeating Tyson Fury for the second consecutive match. I will only fight 2 more matches, exactly 2 more matches before retiring. I watched the match between Joseph Parker and Martin Bakole and predicted that Parker would win. But if the next opponent for me is Dubois, ok!”, Usyk declared. In theory, Dubois still holds the IBF heavyweight belt and only he has enough position to “match” with Usyk, who holds the WBA, WBO, WBC and The Ring titles, in the upcoming classic unification match.
Most likely, the Dubois vs Usyk 2 match will be held this summer, in June or July. In the fight a year and a half ago, Dubois punched Usyk and made him fall, but the referee found fault with the situation when he thought that Dubois punched the soft tissue below the waist of his opponent. After that, Usyk easily controlled the match and won by knocking out his junior in the 9th round.
Perhaps, more than ever, Dubois is eager for revenge, especially when the reward this time is extremely huge with all 4 belts and the title of absolute world heavyweight champion.
