Daniel Dubois returned with a trademark knockout win on Saturday night and his promoter Frank Warren has big plans for ‘DDD’ including a stadium fight against Joe Joyce.
Joyce took the unbeaten record of Dubois last November and inflicted injuries that kept the 23-year-old out of action until this month. The second-round knockout victory over Bogdan Dinu rewarded Dubois with the WBA Interim heavyweight title and a likely top three ranking with the World Boxing Association next month. For Warren it was a relief to see his young star get back on the horse successfully and finish the fight in style.
“I’ve got to be honest; I’d be a liar if I said any different, I was concerned in as much that, for me, he [Dubois] was under tremendous pressure in as much all the things people had said about him and the way the fight ended [against Joyce],” said Warren who spoke to Boxing Social on Tuesday.
“He coped with it and he’s quite an honest kid. He said himself there was a few demons there before he got in the ring, when he done his interview afterwards. He was very professional once he got that jab going and his range. I thought it was a really good test for him to come back. Once he got his jab going and that right hand he was in business, back to where he was. The thing I want to see with him and it’s only him that can do it… I know (former trainer) Martin Bowers wanted this and (current trainer) Shane [McGuigan] will the same is wanting that head movement. It’s all about head movement.”
The win kickstarted the Dubois-McGuigan era but with only a few weeks work under their belt the real evidence of any improvements will come later in the year and into 2021. And over these next 12 months the plans for Dubois have been laid out for him and were put in motion as soon as Saturday’s fight had been made for Dinu’s Interim belt.
“There was a bit of method in the madness,” said Warren.
“What it does from a matchmaking point of view is it puts Daniel in a tremendous position. He’s interim champion now. So the (‘World’) champion, they’ve got three champions, Trevor Bryan now has to fight Daniel and that’s a very winnable fight. He wins that and he’s then the mandatory for Joshua or Fury depending if they get it on. By the time that all shakes out, I was hoping it would be by this time, he’ll be in a position where he is the guy to challenge for a world title.”
But before they reach that junction Warren’s eyes are lit up by the prospect of Joyce v Dubois 2.
“What I’d like to see happen now is to get them a couple of fights so this time next year we can go into a stadium for the rematch. That’s what I want to see happen. That is a massive fight. A big, big fight for next year. A big domestic bust-up.”
Warren, who also promotes Joyce, told Boxing Social that ‘The Juggernaut’ will return on July 24 at Wembley Arena. And as reports have suggested it will be against someone like heavyweight warhorse Carlos Takam or Joyce’s old amateur rival Tony Yoka.
“Somebody of that ilk. He needs that,” said Warren.
“He’s mandatory to the winner of Joshua and Usyk so he’s in a great position. It’s been a bit frustrating for him. People think I favoured Daniel before he fought Joyce. It wasn’t a question of favouring. Before the fight I was asked a question which I gave an honest answer too and it was it was. I made moves to get Daniel back in the game with his last fight and becoming Interim champion and Joe is now in a good position too.”
Warren also revealed that the July 24 show at the Wembley would also feature super-welterweight prospect Hamzah Sheeraz, former British heavyweight title challenger Nathan Gorman, British welterweight champion Chris Jenkins, unbeaten welterweight Ekow Essuman and the long overdue British super-lightweight title fight between Ennis Brown v Sam Maxwell.
Main image: Queensbury Promotions