Does world heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk, 22-0(14), have some unfinished business with Daniel Dubois, the current IBF belt-holder? Some fans believe so, of course, due to the “was it low, was it not low?” shot Dubois landed on Usyk in their fight in August of last year, Usyk going down in that fifth round and being given time to recover by the third man in the ring. To this day, plenty of people – Dubois and his promoter Frank Warren included – feel strongly Dubois was cheated out of a legit stoppage win.
It seems this issue will never fully go away. Which is why Usyk’s manager, Egis Klimas, says a rematch with Dubois is “perfect” for after Usyk has beaten Tyson Fury a second time, which of course Klimas is certain will be the case on December 21. There may or may not be a third fight between Usyk and Fury written into the contract, but Klimas says the only fight left for an Usyk who will be 2-0 over Fury is a return with Dubois.
“When Oleksandr beats Tyson the second time, there will be no more interesting boxers left in his weight category, except for Daniel Dubois. He is the IBF title holder. Many people still remember the first fight and that controversial blow,” Klimas said when speaking with Champion. “It would be a perfect rematch, a fight for the title of absolute world champion.”
So even Usyk’s manager refers to the body shot/low blow punch from Dubois as a controversial moment, although, of course, Klimas feels his fighter won the fight, no ifs or buts. But a return between Usyk and Dubois would certainly be interesting. Dubois looks to have improved a heck of a lot since being stopped in the ninth round by Usyk. His KO wins over Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua has impressed us all.
Can Dubois, 22-2(21), improve on his previous showing against Usyk? Might another tough fight with Fury take something out of Usyk with Dubois able to capitalize?
If it was down to you, fellow fight fan, which fight would you rather see a victorious Usyk take next year: a third fight with Fury or a second fight with Dubois? Or might we actually get both fights?
