By Charles Brun: Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn says he thinks unbeaten Joe Joyce should ideally be the one challenging Oleksandr Usyk for his WBA heavyweight title next, not Daniel Dubois, who has weak opposition in his last three fights to earn the mandatory position with that sanctioning body.
Eddie questions whether Dubois will be ready to challenge Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) anytime soon, as he’s coming off of knee surgery from last January from an injury he sustained in his fight against ex-cruiserweight Kevin Lerena last December in London.
As most boxing fans already know, Lerena dropped Dubois three times in the first round and surely would have finished him off in the second round if he had sense enough to continue throwing shots in round two instead of letting his punch output drop to subzero.
Hearn points out that all Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) had to do for him to become WBA mandatory was to beat these guys:
- Trevor Bryan
- Kevin Lerena
- Bogdan Dinu
- Joe Cusumano
What was the World Boxing Association thinking in allowing the 25-year-old Dubois to earn the mandatory spot after beating those four? I mean, he should have beaten at least one live dog to become WBA mandatory, shouldn’t he?
In all that’s good, Dubois needed at least one credible opponent to earn a title shot against Usyk. In an ideal world, Dubois should have beaten these killers to make the WBA mandatory slot to challenge Usyk:
Filip Hrgovic, Martin Bakole, Frank Sanchez, Jared Anderson, Arslanbek Makhmudov and Andy Ruiz Jr.
For his part, the undefeated, far more accomplished Joe Joyce (15-0,14 KOs) has been busy defeating these fighters:
- Joseph Parker
- Carlos Takam
- Christian Hammer
- Daniel Dubois
Joe Joyce should get Usyk shot, not Dubois
“I like Daniel Dubois, but who on earth has he beat to become mandatory for Oleksandr Usyk? Trevor Bryan, Kevin Lerena & Bogdan Dinu,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV, pointing out that Daniel Dubois has fought lesser opposition to earn his WBA mandatory spot to challenge IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk next.
“Fair play to him [Dubois], but I think Joe Joyce should be getting a shot well ahead of him, but good luck to him,” Hearn continued. “But I don’t think he’ll necessarily be ready for that fight, especially if there’s a purse bid.
“But I’m sure [Usyk’s promoter] Alex Krassyuk and [Dubois’ promoters at] Queensberry can reach a deal and good luck to them. Filip Hrgovic will await the winner. Yes,” said Hearn when asked if he’ll get involved if it goes to a purse bid.
