What's next for Daniel Dubois if he beats Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley?

Independent

2 days ago

Daniel Dubois is ready to enter himself into the pantheon of great British heavyweight champions by dethroning the 'Brit basher' Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley on Saturday night.
The IBF champion has resurrected his career since losing to Usyk in 2023, claiming his career-best wins against Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and a brutal knockout of Anthony Joshua.
If Dubois can cause one of the biggest upsets of the year on Saturday, he will have the world at his feet at just 27 years old and be the first British undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.
But where does he go from there? As the trailblazer for the next generation of heavyweight contenders, he will have his pick of the bunch.
Usyk trilogy
If Dubois can exact his revenge against the odds and beat Usyk, a trilogy fight is the perfect way to complete his Hollywood-esque career resurgence.
This would be close to the top of the list for Dubois, the opportunity to settle the rivalry and for 'Dynamite' to assert himself as the best heavyweight in the world. To beat Usyk twice when the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have both fallen short twice would be a special achievement.
Dubois hasn't spoken on the possibility of a trilogy, but there is no doubt it would be a monumental event and a fitting conclusion to the tapestry of the Usyk vs Dubois rivalry.
Joseph Parker
To not include Parker in this list would be a misstatement of the facts. As confirmed by Frank Warren, Joseph Parker is the next in line for a shot at heavyweight gold.
This would be a fight that is easy to make as both Parker and Dubois are in the Queensberry stable of fighters, so there would be no negotiation trouble, and the fight could be made at the drop of a hat.
Parker, however, speaking to Seconds Out, didn't like his chances of getting a world title shot any time soon.
Parker said: 'There's so many options that could happen after this fight. There could be a rematch clause, the belt could be vacated, they could be wanting to fight someone else.'
Dubois was initially scheduled to fight Parker to defend his upgraded IBF title on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 in February.
Pulling out a couple of days before fight night, Dubois was accused by some of ducking the fight with Parker to set up the fight rematch with Usyk instead.
Parker wants the opportunity to get back at Dubois for denying him the opportunity to fight for a world title.
Parker said: 'I do want to get at Dubois, I think he is a young, hungry fighter. He's getting better and better. But I do want to test myself against this young man who denied me the chance [at a world title].'
Both men will feel they have unfinished business with the other if they were to fight.
Anthony Joshua rematch
An unforgettable night at Wembley saw Daniel Dubois announce himself as the next generation of heavyweight champions, savagely knocking out Anthony Joshua to set up the rematch with Usyk.
It was initially expected that Joshua would take an immediate rematch with Dubois, but it never materialised.
Joshua was forced to have surgery on an elbow injury, which wrote him off in regards to an immediate rematch.
Speaking after Bivol had defeated Beterbiev in the rematch, Eddie Hearn said the fight Joshua wanted most for his comeback was the rematch with Dubois.
Hearn said: 'The right thing to do would be to rematch Daniel Dubois. I think that's what he would like to do. To have another shot at the world heavyweight championship.'
If Dubois comes through his rematch with Usyk, then he will certainly be on Joshua's radar as the former unified champion has ambitions of joining the exclusive club of fighters that are three-time heavyweight champions.
Whether or not Joshua will be on Dubois's radar remains to be seen after Saturday.
The next generation
If this rematch is to signal a passing of the torch from the generation of Fury, Joshua and Usyk to Dubois, then, as the new king of the division, the Brit will have a long line of young and hungry fighters vying for a shot at his crown.
Alongside Parker as the mandatory challenger for the WBO, three other heavyweights are also in the mix for a title shot and with the bureaucracy of boxing, any one of them could be next.
Agit Kabayel has come up the hard way to claim his WBC interim title by earning victories over much larger and well-respected opponents including Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang. As interim champion, he is at the front of the queue when the time for the WBC mandatory challenger comes.
One of the brightest young British prospects, Moses Itauma, is also lurking in the heavyweight rankings. He is number one with the WBO, number two with the WBA and number six with the IBF.
He will first have to get through the toughest test of his career against the former world title challenger and veteran heavyweight, Dillian Whyte, on August 16.
Saturday's chief support is former cruiserweight world champion, Lawrence Okolie, fighting Kevin Lerena in his second heavyweight fight and he currently sits as the number one ranked contender with the WBC.
The pair have shared hundreds of rounds of sparring, and a fight between them would carry a lot of history with it.
Watch Usyk versus Dubois 2 live and exclusive on DAZN PPV this Saturday - July 19 - for £24.99 UK; $59.99 US; $19.99/equivalent ROW. Buy the PPV now here.