Dubois Hopes Win Against Joshua Will Lead To Usyk Rematch: ‘We Have Unfinished Business’

IBF heavyweight title holder Daniel Dubois says he is determined to land a rematch with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk – once he’s defeated Anthony Joshua later this month.
Dubois (21-2-0 20 KO) makes the first defense of his IBF title against former two-time world champion Joshua on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The fight comes with Dubois in the form of his career having bounced back from a defeat to Usyk in August 2023.
On that night in Poland, Usyk gradually broke down the Londoner on his way to a ninth-round stoppage but not before plenty of controversy in the ring. Dubois sent Usyk crumpling to the canvas in the fifth round but the body shot was deemed a low blow. The Ukrainian was given sufficient time to recover and eventually secured the knockout four rounds later.
Usyk recently suggested he could return to cruiserweight in an attempt to become a two-time undisputed champion at 200lbs, but Dubois is keen for his rival to remain at heavyweight for a rematch.
“I need to go in there and right that wrong,” Dubois told Sky Sports. “There is definitely unfinished business with me and Usyk, and that’s part of my rise.
“I was in a dark place before and I’m coming into the light, so I need to get that back. “He was at cruiserweight before and I’m sure he could come back up, but let’s see how the future plays out.”
Dubois was elevated from interim to full world champion by the IBF in June after Usyk vacated the title ahead of his rematch with Tyson Fury on December 21.
Usyk became undisputed heavyweight champion in May with a stunning split-decision victory over Fury in Saudi Arabia, but after the IBF ordered him to fight mandatory challenger Dubois – a status he earned by defeating Filip Hrgovic in June – the Ukrainian opted to vacate the title before it was stripped.
It means Dubois has been given world champion status without earning it in the ring, but ‘Dynamite’ is not paying too much attention to the critics and is determined to earn it against Joshua.
“You know what? That’s how Lennox Lewis became champion, and it’s happened before in the past in boxing history,” Dubois said. “Just to get your name up there as world champion is a great feeling. I wish I had it on the night [against Hrgovic], the IBF world title belt, but it’s all good.”
The victory over then-IBF interim champion Hrgovic was the finest performance of Dubois’ career to date. Taking on the unbeaten Croatian as part of the 5-vs-5 event in Saudi Arabia, Dynamite stalked his opponent and eventually broke him down to claim an eighth-round knockout.
That came six months after another impressive victory against the dangerous Jarrell Miller, whom he stopped in the 10th and final round, also in Riyadh.
In his win against Hrgovic, Dubois absorbed plenty of shots during the opening rounds before taking control of the fight, and the British fighter said he took some big lessons away from the bout.
“It was to just keep digging deep,” Dubois said. “Like my dad was saying from outside the ring, ‘don’t wait, don’t wait!’. “Once I start throwing at them, they have to defend. The best form of defence is attack, so I learnt from that fight to attack and attack and keep going. I started off a bit shaky, but I got into it once the rhythm went. I felt the vibe and I had the right people in my corner, so it was great.”
The focus now, of course, is all on Joshua, and Dubois believes a victory will place him alongside Usyk and Fury as the best fighters in the heavyweight division. “It puts me at the top of the tree now [if I beat Joshua],” Dubois said. “It does make me the king, for sure.”