Daniel Dubois has a message for Oleksandr Usyk if the unified heavyweight king is seriously considering an eventual drop back down to cruiserweight: We have unfinished business first.
It’s been a year since Dubois was stopped by the Ukrainian in the ninth round of their world title showdown in Wroclaw in controversial circumstances, but the 26-year-old has since rebounded with TKOs of his own against Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic.
A blockbuster clash with Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium on September 21, live on Sky Sports Box Office, is rapidly approaching too, where the winner would likely be on course to face whoever comes out on top in Usyk’s December rematch with Tyson Fury.
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Usyk had previously floated the idea of dropping back down a division to reclaim undisputed status at the 14-stone limit, but Dubois is determined to make amends against the 2012 Olympics gold medallist after he faces Joshua.
“I need to go in there and right that wrong,” Dubois told Sky Sports.
“There is definitely unfinished business with me and Usyk, and that’s part of my rise. I was in a dark place before and I’m coming into the light, so I need to get that back.
“He was at cruiserweight before and I’m sure he could come back up, but let’s see how the future plays out.”
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Added into the mix is the fact Dubois now holds the IBF belt which Usyk relinquished in June, ending his reign as the first undisputed heavyweight champion for a quarter of a century after barely a month.
That saw Dubois upgraded to the sanctioning body’s world champion, having earned interim status with his eighth-round stoppage of Hrgovic in Saudi Arabia at the start of June.
The vagaries of boxing politics are of little concern to the Greenwich fighter, but it did mean that at the time of his clash with former unified world champion Joshua being announced, he was still not in possession of the actual belt.
“We’re waiting – where is it?!” Dubois said with a laugh. “But hopefully I’ll get it.
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“But you know what? That’s how Lennox Lewis became champion, and it’s happened before in the past in boxing history.
“Just to get your name up there as world champion is a great feeling.
“I wish I had it on the night, the IBF world title belt, but it’s all good.”
The victory over Hrgovic was something of a statement win for Dubois as well, particularly given the criticism he received over the manner of his defeat to Usyk.
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The encouragement from ringside of his father as well as trainer Don Charles helped spur him on that night in Riyadh and he is taking one big lesson from that contest into his fight against Joshua.
“It was to just keep digging deep,” Dubois said. “Like my dad was saying from outside the ring, ‘don’t wait, don’t wait!’.
“Once I start throwing at them, they have to defend. The best form of defence is attack, so I learnt from that fight to attack and attack and keep going.
“It’s massive [having dad ringside]. You just need that, to kick you up the backside and get on with it!
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“I started off a bit shaky, but I got into it once the rhythm went. I felt the vibe and I had the right people in my corner, so it was great.”
Now back boxing on home turf in London as a defending world champion, Dubois is under no illusions about what is at stake.
He knows victory over Joshua would open up the possibility of adding more world title belts to his collection, and maybe even the chance to put right what he felt went wrong against Usyk.
“It puts me at the top of the tree now [if I beat Joshua],” Dubois said. “It does make me the king, for sure.”
