IBF heavyweight champ Daniel Dubois says he is intent on “ripping them other belts away from Usyk” when the two fight their rematch on July 19. Speaking again with Keith Idec of The Ring, Dubois said he strongly feels Usyk’s age and wear and tear, along with his own youth and explosiveness, will prove too much for the reigning WBC/WBA/WBO heavyweight champ.
Dubois says there will be “no regrets” on his part after the rematch, and he says he is planning to do “a real demolition job” on the unbeaten southpaw who stopped him in the ninth round in August of 2023, this, Dubois says, after “milking it” after being hit by what he still insists was not a low blow but a legal body shot.
“He’s a 38 year old man,” Dubois said of Usyk. “No matter how fit and young he might feel in training, I need to bring that wear and tear out of him, and that age, show him what a youthful, 27 year old heavyweight can really do. I’m looking forward to showing that. I’m a world champion now, but I just feel there’s more to bring out of me. I haven’t reached my full potential yet. I just need to go and rip them belts away from Usyk.”
What Makes This Rematch a Must-Watch Event?
Dubois, 22-2(21) certainly is a man on a mission here, and this fight could prove to be one of the toughest yet for Usyk. Father Time is hovering, that cannot be denied, as all the greats, no matter who they are, succumb to age at some stage. It’s inevitable. But has Usyk, 23-0(14) got one, maybe two more great performances left in him? This is what we will find out come July 19.
As for the first fight, Dubois is still angry at the way he claims he was robbed of a KO win. Not only that, but Dubois says Usyk has “milked it” in previous fights when he has been hurt.
“Now that I’ve looked back on it, I’ve seen it before [from Usyk], how he’s milked those situations when he’s actually been hurt,” Dubois said. “But I’m looking forward to doing a real demolition job on him. No comebacks, no regrets, just leave it all in the ring.”
It would be interesting to know just which previous fights Dubois is referring to when he says Usyk was hurt and that he milked it in those situations. But all of that is in the past, and nobody has managed to beat Usyk. Will this change come July 19?
Daniel Dubois Wants Tyson Fury Showdown After Usyk Unification
Reigning IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois says he never truly believed Tyson Fury when the former champ announced his seemingly umpteenth retirement from the ring a few months back. Dubois, speaking with The Ring as he edges ever closer to his huge four-belt unification showdown with Oleksandr Usyk, said he felt Fury would fight again.
And, with Fury saying this week that he is coming back to fight Usyk a third time, Dubois says it will be he who Fury should fight, this in a “mega-fight.”
Dubois, who is confident he will beat Usyk and get his revenge on July 19 at Wembley, said a fight between himself and Fury, with all four world titles on the line, is what he wants.
“I don’t even think he took himself seriously,” Dubois said of Fury and his latest retirement announcement. “He’s just saying whatever comes to mind first. I thought he would come back. He’s done it before. With all the belts on the line, he can come back and have a mega-fight, so I didn’t take it seriously, no. I think he will come back. Seeing all the belts on the line, I think he’ll fancy it. He’ll come out for sure. That’s what I want. We need the heavyweight division to be healthy, for us fighters to get up for a real mega-fight like that. That would be a mega-fight. That’s what you want.”
Why a Dubois vs Fury Mega-Fight Makes Perfect Sense
If – and it could be seen as a big if in the minds of plenty of fans – Dubois did manage to hand Usyk his very first pro defeat, Dubois vs Fury would indeed be not only a massive fight but also a fascinating one. Frank Warren, promoter of both, would have a tough time with this match-up, and he has said he wouldn’t really want to see it as he likes both guys.
But money talks, and if Dubois were to emerge from the July 19 showdown at Wembley as the first-ever British heavyweight to own all four world titles, well, would Fury be able to resist taking a monster fight with him?
Not long to go now until the moment of truth, and that potentially great rematch on the 19th.
