After having lost out on £millions due to falling ill and being unable to go ahead with his scheduled fight with Joseph Parker, IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois remains on course for a big fight when he does return, so said his promoter Frank Warren when speaking with BBC 5 Live.
Warren said his team will sit down “in the next week or so,” and work out Dubois’s next move. The rematch Dubois wants, and Oleksandr Usyk wants, is still very much a possibility, Warren said, while “DDD” could fight a return fight with Anthony Joshua next instead.
“You have to look at the next move and I think it will be either Usyk in an all-belt affair for the four belts or maybe AJ,” Warren said. “We will have to work that out in the next week or so. We will talk through the options as a team and make a decision. Everyone’s view is important but the most important view is Daniel’s because he is the one getting into the ring and and he makes the ultimate decision.”
According to Warren, Dubois thinks he would have taken Parker out pretty quickly had their fight gone ahead as scheduled, but of course we will never know. Now, from a fight fan’s perspective, which fight is the more attractive and exciting option of the two Warren listed – Usyk II or Joshua II? Both fights would generate plenty of interest, but the big fight is of course Usyk-Dubois II. Dubois, 22-2(21) is convinced he needs to “right a wrong” by defeating Usyk, this after he was “robbed” of a legit body shot KO back in August of 2023 when he first fought Usyk.
Usyk too wants the rematch, and with all four belts on the line it would give Usyk, 23-0(14) the chance to become a two-time undisputed, four-belt heavyweight champion. If it is Usyk-Dubois II next, it will be interesting to see where the fight is held. Might this rematch take place on yet another massive card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia?
For now, let’s all hope Dubois is back to full health and that he will be able to fight at the top of his game when he does make his return to the ring.
