Daniel Dubois Plans To Continue ‘Resurrection’ With Win Over Anthony Joshua
IBF heavyweight world champion Daniel Dubois believes he has “resurrected” his career and says he plans to keep “moving forward” with a victory over Anthony Joshua this month.
Dubois (21-2-0 20 KO) will make the first defense of his IBF belt on September 21 when he takes on two-time unified champion Joshua (28-3-0 25 KO) in the headline bout of the Riyadh Season show at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
The Londoner’s elevation from interim to full world champion – after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt to face Tyson Fury in a rematch – marks an impressive turnaround from four years ago when his aims to become an elite-level fighter looked in serious danger.
On that occasion, Dubois was stopped in the 10th round by British rival Joe Joyce after sustained punishment to his left eye resulted in a fractured eye socket. ‘Dynamite’ was counted out after taking a knee, leading to harsh criticism that he quit.
Dubois rebuilt his career with four successive wins to set up his first world title shot against Usyk in a fight that helped to start changing perceptions about his heart. The challenger gave the brilliant Ukrainian a competitive bout and even dropped him, although the body shot was deemed a low blow.
Usyk recovered to claim a ninth-round stoppage, but Dubois displayed enough to suggest that he could operate at the world level. He responded with the best two wins of his career, stopping Jarrell Miller in the final round before an eighth-round knockout of then-IBF interim title holder Filip Hrgovic, which ultimately led to his elevation.
Now Dubois is set for the ultimate challenge of facing Joshua in front of 94,000 fans inside England’s national soccer stadium, and the champion insists it’s all part of the journey.
“I’ve had to resurrect my career. I’ve had to come back and face everything that I might have been shying away from before. Criticism. People saying whatever they had to say. But I don’t want to go too deep into it. I’ve resurrected my career and just keep going now,” Dubois told Sky Sports.
“I’ve resurrected it. It’s not over yet. Every day’s a battle, I could fall back right into where I was but I’m going to keep chipping away and keep going forward. I was down and now I’m coming back up.
“There’s a deeper meaning to it than just me and AJ in the ring. Everything’s on the line. Who’s got the stronger will, who’s really conquered their demons and who’s really ready to move forward and I believe that’s me and I’m ready to go out there and show it.”
Despite being the champion, Dubois is regarded as the underdog against Joshua, but at 26 years old and in the form of his career, Dynamite has the momentum and confidence to upset the odds.
“I aim to knock him out. That’s the programme. That’s the mindset, that’s the intention coming into this fight. I’m going to focus my whole life into destroying it and just being a good destroyer, a good conqueror,” Dubois said.
“Don’t wait. Go out there. Smash him. Go through them. Go through whatever I have to go through … No retreat, no surrender. And go out there and perform like a warrior.”
