The way IBF heavyweight champ Daniel Dubois tells it, his September KO win over Anthony Joshua was only the beginning. Now, “DDD” says, he is aiming to prove he is the “top dog” of the division by taking on Oleksandr Usyk (in a rematch) and Tyson Fury and defeating them.
Talking to Sky Sports, Dubois said there has to be “respect put on my name.” While Dubois said of the Usyks and the Furys of the sport, “Let me get at them now.”
First comes former WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker, who Dubois will face on February 22. Dubois, 22-2(21), insists he is not at all looking past Parker, but he says he wants all the smoke at heavyweight now, in “back-to-back big fights.”
“I’m pretty much the full package of what I’m going to be right about now. I can’t wait to get back in the mix. There are big back-to-back fights for me now. The first guy on my hit list is Joseph Parker,” Dubois said. “I’m just getting ready, ready to destroy. Destruct and destroy and do my thing. You’ve got to put some respect on my name. I proved you wrong there (in the Joshua fight), and I’m going to continue doing it. I’m the number one now. They need to put me back in the ring with these guys (Usyk, Fury). Let me get at them now, now I’m ready for them.”
Fans might like the way Dubois – who has come on as a talker as well as as a fighter, Dubois previously a man of few words – borrowed a line from the great Marvin Hagler. Now, having rebounded from that loss to Usyk, Dubois really does have to be looked at as one of the top guys. Maybe not number one yet, but Dubois could be on his way. If he can do a job on Parker, a return between Dubois and Usyk would be fascinating.
Like everyone else, Dubois is waiting to see what happens on December 21 when Usyk and Fury fight again. If he can get that win over Parker, Dubois might be right there waiting for the winner.
“I feel ready now to become the top dog, the top dog of the division,” 27-year-old Dubois said.
