Daniel Dubois, the WBO world heavyweight champion, believes he would beat Oleksandr Usyk if they had a trilogy fight.
Twice Dubois has boxed the imperious Ukrainian and twice Usyk, the undefeated and two-time undisputed heavyweight champion, has stopped the Londoner.
But after a stunning two-round victory in his rematch with Fabio Wardley on Saturday, Dubois is confident he has reached a new level and can defeat Usyk.
No heavyweight, Dubois is convinced, can handle the punches Wardley threw.
“No. Fabio’s got a great beard. He’s known for taking punishment, but I was going through it. I just had to pull myself together and reset. I want to know who’s next!” Dubois stated.
He would welcome a potential trilogy fight with Usyk. “Definitely, definitely, I would like that,” Dubois said. “We’re coming out on top this time. We’ve made our mistakes and we’re going to come out on top.”
Promoter Frank Warren said: “Daniel in my opinion is not the same fighter he was even a year ago. He is a completely different fighter now.
“When he’s doing what he’s doing at his best, you have to be a fighter to stand up and be able to take those shots. He’s a tremendous puncher. When he gets you in trouble, you’re in trouble. He’s a good finisher.”
Usyk vacated all the world titles he held, allowing Dubois to win the WBO belt before his first fight with Wardley, Filip Hrgovic to take the IBF belt after defeating Moses Itauma and Agit Kabayel to become the WBC world heavyweight champion.
Dubois’ kick hurts Wardley
Next year Dubois is looking to add more championships to his collection. “I’ve heard talk about Kabayel, but I’ll fight whoever is in line. Whoever pays the most money,” Dubois said.
“The future looks bright.”
Promoter Frank Warren reckons it will take 18 months for a new undisputed champion to be crowned, but expects a wave of unifications in the heavyweight division to begin next year.
“I think it will happen in about 18 months because of the timing of it all,” Warren said. “We’ll do them as soon as we can, I expect in the first quarter we’ll have at least one of those mergers. If we do, somebody’s going to be holding two belts.
“Filipi has a must-match against (Frank) Sanchez,” Warren noted. “We’ve got Agit fighting in November in Germany and we’ve got Tyson (Fury) and AJ fighting in December (for the WBA ‘super’ title). So they’re all busy but we’ll be out, don’t worry about it.
Dubois raised his hand in victory. (Photos: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions)
“The good thing about it is that everybody wants to fight. They’re fighting men.
“We want the best to fight the best to find out who is the best,” the promoter continued. “Put Usyk back in it.
“There are all kinds of changes. One thing is for sure, 2027 is going to be a phenomenal year.
“(Dubois) wants the four belts. So do all the other guys. That’s what’s going to be so exciting.”