Daniel Dubois entered the ring to confront Oleksandr Usyk (Image: TNT Sports)
Frank Warren has hit back at claims Daniel Dubois is underestimating Joseph Parker before their imminent heavyweight clash.
Dubois, aged 27, will put his IBF heavyweight crown on the line against a resurgent Parker on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ‘Triple D’ enters the fray riding high from a formidable knockout victory over Anthony Joshua in September. Although a rematch seemed on the cards, Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, disclosed that ‘AJ’ needed more time for recovery, paving the way for the Brit to face Parker instead.
The New Zealander, coming off a sensational win over Zhilei Zhang last March, poses a significant challenge for Dubois. However, doubts have been cast over Dubois’ commitment to the fight amid speculation he’s fixated on a unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk.
Following Dubois’ ringside confrontation with the Ukrainian after Usyk’s triumph over Tyson Fury last month, he faced criticism for his conduct. In that encounter, which some found cringe-worthy, Dubois grabbed the mic and challenged Usyk directly: “I want my revenge,” he declared.
“I want my revenge Usyk! Well done tonight, well done. God bless. I want my revenge for the robbery last time. Let’s go, let’s go. Make it happen Frank!”
Oleksandr Usyk displayed his readiness to take on new challenges after a match, openly calling for a bout with Daniel Dubois by stating: “Your excellency, make the fight with Daniel Dubois. Thank you so much. I can do more. I’m ready to fight (Dubois), no problem. Next fight no problem. Now I want to go home and rest.”
When questioned if Daniel ‘Triple D’ Dubois was underestimating Joe Parker, promoter Frank Warren defended the strategy during the FACE OFF show: “We’re in the boxing business. And you just see a fight, he jumps in the ring and did what he had to do. How many times over the years have you seen fighters do the same thing? ” Ade Oladipo queried further about scheduling conflicts, to which Warren replied: “Yeah! By doing that, everybody knows who he is. If they didn’t know who he is before, they do now. And the winner of this fight, I genuinely do believe will be fighting (Oleksandr) Usyk in a unification fight. It’s not a carrot, it’s a bag of carrots! That’s what’s on the table for the winner.”
Despite facing criticism for his post-fight confrontation with Usyk, Dubois affirmed his approach in a BoxNation interview: “This is boxing at the end of the day, any publicity is good publicity. If they hate it or they like it then yeah. I’ve been boxing long enough to understand that now.”
“It’s not all about having everything your way and everyone love you, but as long as they want to see you that is all that matters. But at the end of the day, I want to get through Parker and then that fight [with Usyk] is done. It’s all about making noise, and as a world champion you can choose your destiny and path. I’m just challenging in my eyes and I want to become undisputed champion and that’s my intentions.”