Usyk Donates IBF Title To Potential Joshua vs Dubois Battle
In something of a double-bladed announcement, two-time undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KO’s) has rather abruptly dropped his IBF heavyweight title via social media. When declaring this move, Usyk stated that his rationale was to gift the title to the winner of the rumored fall match-up pitting Interim IBF heavyweight champion “Dynamite” Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KO’s) against two-time heavyweight champion Anthony “AJ” Joshua (28-3, 25 KO’s).
On May 18, Usyk defeated former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury by way of split decision to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. The two are scheduled to stage an immediate rematch on December 21. Obviously, that battle will no longer be for the undisputed championship.
ON A COLLISION COURSE?
While it has yet to be officially announced, industry scuttlebutt holds that Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois will be testing their might against one another later this year. The bout would make a great deal of sense as each is coming off of sensational victories. Joshua, ranked #1 (WBO), #1 (WBC), #2 (WBA) and #3 (IBF), obliterated Francis Ngannou in two rounds on March 8.
For his part, Dubois pummeled, cut-up and forced an eighth round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic on June 1. Now, with Usyk tossing the belt to the side, Dubious could be elevated to the full champion. If not, he and potentially Joshua will compete for the vacant title come fight night. In either scenario, the full IBF title would hang in the balance of their would-be prizefight.
REMEDY FOR REDEMPTION?
The talks of a possible Joshua versus Dubois showdown are logical. To begin, obviously, Dubois is an interim champion while Joshua is extremely highly ranked across all four major sanctioning bodies. Also, they represent two rival promotional companies. Joshua is backed by Matchroom Boxing and Dubois is a company man for Queensberry Promotions.
In his June 1 rumble versus Hrgovic, Dubois took part in a themed promotion pitting the two aforementioned companies against one another. Despite Matchroom taking a severe drubbing and being forced to walk away without one victory, the stylized event, put on by chairman Turki Alalshikh, was very successful and warmly received by the boxing public. Before cameras could stop rolling, it was stated that the two companies would go head-to-head again before the year’s end.
A duel between Joshua and Dubois would appear to make a fantastic main event. For now, we’ll have to wait and see if an announcement for a Dubois vs Joshua battle materializes. Yet, even if not, it is official that Usyk is no longer undisputed.
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