Dubois changes perceptions, muscles onto top of heavyweights

Daniel Dubois, center, celebrates victory against Anthony Joshua, not pictured, in the IBF World Heavyweight bout at Wembley Stadium, in London, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

Tyson Fury looked as stunned as everyone else inside Wembley Stadium after witnessing Daniel Dubois dismantle Anthony Joshua in the latest shake-up of boxing’s heavyweight division.

Except Fury had other things on his mind.

“Listen, that’s cost me 150 million,” Fury, scratching his head, shouted to a friend at ringside on Saturday night.

READ: ‘Warrior’ Anthony Joshua vows to fight on despite Dubois mauling

Maybe Fury vs. Joshua — the long-awaited heavyweight fight that boxing’s new overlords in Saudi Arabia had reportedly been planning — might never happen.

Instead, it’s Dubois, another British fighter, who has muscled his way onto the sport’s top table.

Given his age, he could be there to stay.

The 27-year-old Dubois might have the boxing world at his feet after a brutal fifth-round knockout of Joshua that not only legitimized his status as the IBF titleholder but made plenty sit up and take notice.

That included Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, currently the two major powers among the heavyweights who are preparing for a rematch in Saudi in December and were seen joking around at ringside on Saturday. Usyk won their first fight in May to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000 but vacated his IBF belt in June.

READ: Dubois knocks out Anthony Joshua to retain IBF heavyweight title

The wider plan was for Joshua to take on Fury — reportedly there was an agreement on a double-header for the sum Fury was talking about — or to fight Usyk for a third time, having already lost twice to the Ukrainian.

Now Joshua, outclassed by Dubois, looks to be out of the picture. Dubois is the main in waiting.

As for a potential Fury-Dubois fight, Frank Warren — the British promoter who represents both boxers — said that would put him in a “very, very awkward position.”

“It’s not something I would push for,” Warren said. “If there’s an offer made that makes a lot of sense, then that’s up to them.”

More likely, then, is a rematch between Dubois and Usyk, especially if Usyk beats Fury. That would put all belts on the table for another fight for the title of undisputed.

READ: Daniel Dubois says ‘my time’ for stardom in bout vs Anthony Joshua

Usyk stopped Dubois in the ninth round when they fought in Poland in August last year, but only after controversially getting time to recover from what was adjudged a low blow by Dubois in the fifth round.

It sent Usyk to the canvas, where he sat against the ropes. Replays showed the punch hitting around Usyk’s belt and Dubois still maintains he was robbed.

“I want to get my rematch,” Dubois said of Usyk, “and put the wrong right.”

There’s video of Usyk and Dubois talking in the ring after their fight in Wroclaw, with Usyk telling his beaten challenger: “Daniel, you young. You can. You can dream.”

Still, Usyk said after the Dubois-Joshua fight that he thought Joshua would win on Saturday.

“For me, it’s a surprise,” said the Ukrainian.

READ: Usyk edges Tyson Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion

Uysk said he was only thinking about “Tyson Fury and the fight and of my family and preparation” when asked if he wanted to take on Dubois again.

Fury, it seems, has money on his mind, too.

If he loses to Usyk, Fury could still fight Joshua in what would be billed as a grudge match, but it wouldn’t be so appealing and there would be no belts on the line for two fighters now in their mid-to-late 30s.

Joshua’s reputation has been seriously damaged by the way he was beaten up by Dubois, though the guy who has been a walking marketing phenomenon for the past 10 years wants to fight on.

“It’s far from over yet,” Joshua said in a video released on social media platform X. “We’ve done it once, done it twice. Doing it a third time hasn’t been easy but I believe it’s something I can achieve.”

Emulating the likes of Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis and becoming a three-time heavyweight champion might be beyond Joshua, though.

Instead, the baton undoubtedly has been passed to Dubois.