Details on Daniel Dubois’s recent illness have finally been shared, with his father discussing the heavyweight champion’s withdrawal from a fight with Joseph Parker – and his next move.
Dubois was due to defend the IBF belt against Parker in Saudi Arabia last Saturday, but the Briton withdrew on two days’ notice, citing illness. Martin Bakole stepped in for Dubois and suffered a second-round knockout by Parker.
The specifics of Dubois’s condition were not revealed, while his next move was left unclear, along with Parker’s. After stopping Bakole, Parker called out unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, while some felt that Dubois vs Parker should be rebooked.
However, it could be that neither match-up materialises: according to Stan Dubois, his son is eyeing his own fight with Usyk, two years after losing to the Ukrainian.
“Next, he wants Usyk,” the elder Dubois told The Ring magazine, which is owned by Saudi adviser Turki Alalshikh, the man behind the Gulf state’s aggressive entry into boxing. “It’s frustrating about the Parker fight, but he couldn’t fight with an infection. Usyk is who we’re going after next.
“Fight week was going well until he became ill. Everything was perfect, then he started feeling unwell a couple days before. He had a virus, he had swollen glands and an ear infection, so the doctor told him: ‘I wouldn’t fight, if I was you.’ He said: ‘You can fight, but after three rounds, you’ll be feeling it.’
“He’s had these problems before. Swollen glands, viral infection, it’s been happening for about eight years, and they usually last three or four days, but he’s been alright after that. With this, it was just bad timing that it happened two days before the fight. Obviously it was very frustrating for him and us.”
In 2023, Dubois dropped Usyk with a punch that was ruled a low blow, despite many believing it was a legal body shot. Usyk climbed off the canvas and ultimately stopped Dubois, staying unbeaten and retaining the unified titles. Dubois’s team launched an appeal to overturn the result, but it failed.
Dubois has gone 3-0 since, stopping Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua. Meanwhile, Usyk has fought twice since, outpointing Tyson Fury twice in 2024. The first fight saw Usyk become undisputed heavyweight champion, while he retained the unified belts in the rematch.
Between those fights against Fury, Usyk vacated the IBF title. That meant Dubois was elevated to official IBF champion, after he won the interim strap with his victory over Hrgovic.
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