Daniel Dubois was in quite a hurry to call out Oleksandr Usyk following Usyk’s repeat victory over Tyson Fury last week.
But the eager Dubois is going to have to cool his jets before he finds himself in the ring with Usyk again.
Usyk manager Egis Klimas told BoxingScene Friday that three-belt heavyweight champion Usyk, 37, is planning an extended break following two 12-round battles with two-time champion Fury this year, and won’t likely resume training until the end of April.
“It’ll be a very long preparation,” Klimas said. “After another 12 rounds with Fury, he needs a good, long recovery.”
Klimas said he believes Usyk, 23-0 (14 KOs), will next fight around “the end of July, or August.”
The 27-year-old Dubois, 22-2 (21 KOs), bolted into the ring in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia seconds after Usyk was declared the winner, interrupting his interview on DAZN to request a rematch of their 2023 bout, which Usyk won by ninth-round knockout.
A despondent Dubois received a post-fight pep talk from Usyk that night and proceeded to win his next three bouts by stoppage. Most recently, he knocked Anthony Joshua down four times and stopped him in the fifth at Wembley Stadium in September, picking up the IBF heavyweight championship in the process.
Dubois’ first defense comes on February 22 in Saudi Arabia against former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker, 35-3 (23 KOs), of New Zealand.
Parker has posted impressive victories over former WBC champion Deontay Wilder and China’s massive Zhilei Zhang in Riyadh.
“Dubois has to beat Parker before he can even start thinking of [Usyk],” Klimas said.
Should Usyk meet the Dubois-Parker winner next, he’ll have the opportunity to stand as undisputed heavyweight champion for the second time, first doing so on May 18 with his split-decision triumph over Fury in their first meeting.
