By Jack Tiernan: Daniel Dubois believes Anthony Joshua will beat Oleksandr Usyk to win back his IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight titles, and Tyson Fury will defeat Dillian Whyte in their potential clash on March 26th.
Joshua, 32, wants to avenge his loss to Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) from September 25th last year, and he’s going all out to try and win. AJ will be replacing his trainer Rob McCracken.
An announcement is expected next week on the name of the new coach, and the location for the training camp.
Neither of those fights has been made yet, but they’re expected to soon. It’s vital for British boxing for Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) and WBC heavyweight champion Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) to win their next fights so the two can meet for the undisputed championship in the second half of 2022 in the UK.
Fury still hasn’t determined whether he will fight Whyte because they still need to negotiate the purse split.
Although the World Boxing Council determined that the split will be 80/20, Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn has appealed to the sanctioning body to have a more significant split. If Hearn gets his way with a 55/45 or 60/40 split, Fury will likely vacate his WBC belt rather than give Whyte what he wants.
Whyte has a chance
Dubois is giving the 33-year-old Dillian Whyte a puncher’s chance of winning the fight with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Whyte will need to utilize his boxing skills to win because if he stays stationary like Deontay Wilder, he’ll get mugged.
“I think it’s a good fight. Dillian is in with a chance; he can box, he can box, and he’s improved, I think,” said Daniel Dubois to Boxing Social on the March fight between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte.
“He definitely has a puncher’s chance, but I think Tyson will be, he’s proven himself, and he’s a better boxer than most guys out there. He’s got a lot of different angles, so he”ll probably win it.
Joshua needs to push Usyk back
Dubois believes Joshua has to apply pressure on the 35-year-old IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) and not let him box like he did last time.
It’s not going to be easy for Joshua to beat Usyk with pressure because he’s slow and robotic with his movements, and he’s not nearly as light on his feet.
If Joshua presses Usyk, he’s going to move out of his way and counter him with sharp punches like last time they ought on September 25th.
“Probably pushing him back more,” said Dubois when asked what Anthony Joshua needs to do in the rematch with Oleksandr Usyk that he didn’t do last September in their first fight.
“Everyone is saying that it’s common knowledge to be more aggressive. In the last fight, it looked like he [Joshua] was trying to outbox him, but Usyk is an amateur world champion, multiple world titles. So he’s going to be challenging to do that against.
“So, pushing him back and going back to the old AJ of destruction and destroy. We’ll see; it should be interesting, whether or not he [Joshua] wins,” said Dubois.
The game plan that Dubois wants Joshua to follow in the rematch with Usyk could get him knocked out because it requires stamina and a chin to carry it out.
For Joshua to press Usyk continuously in the way needed for him to win, he’ll need a good gas tank and handle the counter shots that he hits him with.
“To me, AJ isn’t my type of guy to watch because I like watching typical war vs. war and all of that, but he’s got a style that is effective, and he comes and knows how to win a fight.
“He boxes long and uses his little angles, and he’s experienced what he has. Good luck for him.
“Tyson Fury,” said Dubois when asked who he’d pick in a fight between Fury and Usyk. “He’s proven himself, hasn’t he? Usyk, you can say he got lucky against Joshua or whatever, but I think Tyson will be difficult to beat.
“Expect big things from me [in 2022]. Destruction and devastation all the way.Watch out, man. It’s going to be an exciting and a new year for me. There are big things on the horizon.
“It went good,” Dubois said in giving his assessment of what 2021 was for his career. “It was comeback time and laying out a new chapter for me. I’m ready for big things on the horizon again.
Dubois could face Trevor Bryan next
#1 WBA Dubois (17-1, 16 KOs) expects to take on WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight champion Trevor Bryan (21-0, 15 KOs) next if he’s still in possession of his strap.
This month, the 32-year-old Bryan has a title defense on January 29th against unbeaten fringe contender Johnathan Guidry. Dubois will likely face the winner of the contest.
“Definitely, that guy and taking that belt and really doing a number on him and taking that title next,” said Dubois when asked about him potentially challenging WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight champion Trevor Bryan next.
“Hopefully, Frank [Warren] will deliver it. We’ll get up there and get where I’m supposed to be, really. I can beat him; that’s what I see,” said Dubois when asked what he thinks of Trevor Bryan.
Trevor won the vacant WBA ‘regular’ title with an eleventh round knockout win over 43-year-lold Bermane Stiverne in January 2021.
It’s unclear why the WBA sanctioned a fight between Stiverne and Bryan for their secondary heavyweight title, given that Bermane came into the contest having lost three out of his last four fights.
Ideally, contenders fighting for vacant titles should be winning their fights and not coming into them with a 1-3 record in their last four contests.
Daniel wants Joe Joyce rematch
Dubois’s tenth round knockout loss to Joe ‘Juggernaut’ Joyce from November 2020 bothers him despite the time that has gone by. Now older and wiser at 24, ‘Dynamite’ Dubois feels he’s ready to avenge his loss to the 6’6″ Joyce.
First on the agenda for Dubois is to capture the WBA secondary heavyweight title from Trevor Bryan next, and then look to run it back with Joyce if he’s accessible and willing to take a rematch.
#2 WBO Joyce is in a position to fight for the World Boxing Organization title against champion Oleksandr Usyk. So, it’s likely that Joyce, 36, will go in that direction first before he takes a risky rematch with Dubois.
“That’s the next step for me, and I’m 100% on it. Of course, win this and go for Joe [Joyce],” said Dubois when asked if he wants to try and right the wrongs from his loss to Joe Joyce by fighting him in a rematch.
“For me, that’s always going to be on the back of my mind. As long as he’s still around, I definitely want to fight him again. Maybe next time for a bigger belt. I don’t know, a world title or whatever, but we definitely need to get it on.
“They’re big fights for me, and I need to win them. I’m excited about fighting and getting in there and taking over, really. It’s my time now,” said Dubois.
It would be better for Dubois to focus on getting fights against Usyk and Joshua if he can capture the WBA belt from Trevor Bryan. Dubois doesn’t need the worries of fighting Joyce again until he takes on Bryan, Usyk, or Joshua for their titles.