By Sam Volz: Newly-crowned WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois has his eyes on a hoped-for fight against Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte, Joseph Parker, or Derek Chisora in the first defense of his strap.
Dubois (18-1, 17 KOs) feels that he matches up well with the former unified champion Joshua, who would be the ideal opponent to face next.
Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) has a lot on his plate at the moment, needing to avenge his loss against Oleksandr Usyk on August 20th in what many boxing fans view as a 50-50 fight.
Dubois dethroned WBA champion Trevor Bryan (22-1, 15 KOs) on June 11th, stopping him in the fourth round with a single left to the head that put the 32-year-old down on the canvas in their contest in Miami.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” said Daniel Dubois to iFL TV when told that his promoter Frank Warren believes Anthony Joshua is made for him. “The attributes that I bring in and Joshua are similar. We know each other.
“Usyk is a skillful fighter, but one fighter suits me more than the other. Yes, of course. Dillian Whyte would definitely want to have that fight,” said Dubois. “Derek Chisora, Parker, there are a few of them.”
Usyk would be a trickier fight for the 6’5″ Dubois to deal with than taking on Joshua, who would be right there in front of him and there to be hit all night.
If Joshua defeats Usyk, he will likely go in a different direction than facing the heavy-handed Dubois. There would be several lucrative fights available to Joshua that would be less risky than fighting Dubois.
“We don’t need to rush into anything,” Dubois said when told that the WBA will be having an eliminator between Michael Hunter and Hughie Fury.
“Definitely with Hughie; if everything is right with that fight and the winner of that fight, we can make that happen. It’s definitely my time to leave my legacy,” said Dubois.
Hughie Fury would be an interesting opponent for Dubois but not the money-maker that a fight against Dillian Whyte would be.
It would be surprising if Whyte accepted a fight with Dubois, given that he’s coming off a disappointing sixth-round knockout at the hands of WBC champion Tyson Fury on April 23rd.
“That was a punch-perfect, one-shot knockout,” said Dubois about his fourth-round KO win over WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight champion Trevor Bryan on June 11th in Miami.
“It worked. He didn’t see that punch coming, and the shot came out of nowhere. The shots that you don’t see are the ones that hurt you the most. Here we are again. I’m a world champion, and that’s it.
“Now, with that belt, it means you’ve got a target on your back, and it’s just going to get harder from now on.”
“I wasn’t going to be denied that night. I was 100% focused on bringing that belt home with me, and that’s what I done,” said Dubois.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnweV_UTrgo