It’s amazing how much can change in a year. Back in August 2023, Oleksandr Usyk offered some powerful words of encouragement to Daniel Dubois after defeating him in the ring. The Ukrainian champion urged the young Brit to believe in himself and assured him that his time to shine would come. Fast forward today, and Dubois has stunned the boxing world by knocking out Anthony Joshua to claim the title.
Usyk’s prophetic words have now come full circle, proving that with a little belief and a lot of determination, anything is possible in the sport of boxing!. Dubois faced Usyk in August 2023. During the fight he was stopped in the ninth round which was only the second loss of his professional boxing career.
After the fight, Usyk took a moment to share some words of wisdom with the young fighter who had just succumbed to a devastating loss. The Ukrainian fighter went up to Dubois and said,
“It’s not bad. It’s boxing, it’s not ballet, it’s not dancing. Daniel, you’re young. You can dream. Dude, relax, it’s boxing. It’s a tough sport brother.”
Oleksandr Usyk told Daniel Dubois that he could be a champion… and he listened pic.twitter.com/Tm0g60kTPj
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) September 21, 2024
Fast forward to exactly over a year and Usyk’s words are now ringing true. Daniel Dubois shocked the world by taking down Anthony Joshua in just five rounds at Wembley, cementing his place in boxing’s elite.
In front of 96,000 fans, Dubois, 27, floored AJ multiple times before finishing him off with a stunning counter right hook.
“Are you not entertained?” he shouted, reverberating the words of one Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius from the movie, Gladiator.
Meanwhile, this loss has put a dent on Joshua’s plans for the future. But promoter Eddie Hearn, already has ideas in mind as to what could be next for his star boxer.
Hearn talks Joshua vs. Fury
Joshua might have taken a tough loss to Dubois, but Hearn doesn’t think this is the end of AJ’s career. Despite being dropped four times and stopped in the fifth round, the promoter believes there are still big fights ahead, and he’s not ruling out an all-British showdown with Tyson Fury.
“This isn’t the end for AJ,” Hearn said. “He’s in the final chapters of his career, but there’s still a chance for a Fury fight, even if it’s next year.”
With Fury set to face Usyk in December, a Joshua vs. Fury bout, win or lose, could still be a blockbuster event. While a Dubois rematch is on the table, Hearn knows a clash with Fury would be a massive payday, and it’s all about what can sell. As he put it, “Even if they’re not at their peak, it’s still a huge fight”.
