Daniel Dubois has confirmed his desire to face Joe Joyce in a rematch in order to avenge the only defeat of his career.
The heavyweight prospect believes that he has learnt from the loss and is ready to take on one of the most in-form fighters in the division once again.
The 25-year-old went into the British title fight with Joyce as the favourite, but took a knee in the tenth-round after suffering a fractured eye socket.
Whilst the decision to accept defeat was slandered by some in the sport at the time, it may prove to have been the correct one as it limited the severity of the injury so early in the career of the hot prospect.
Since then, Dubois has set about a mission to rebuild his career and re-establish himself as a dominant force in the division.
He split from trainer Mark Tibbs and teamed up with Shane McGuigan before winning three successive fights via stoppage, including a victory over Trevor Bryan where he won the WBA Regular title.
Now with newfound confidence, Dubois told ESPN that he is ready to seek revenge against Joyce.
“If me and Joyce fought now it would be a different story. I’ve matured, learned, got tougher and I’m more aware of the dangers that can happen in the ring. I know not to get too sucked into the moment.”
“There was a lot of things that happened against Joyce — it was instruction and training before hand, and in the lead up to the fight, but I want to leave it in the past.”
“I want to get that rematch and get my revenge, that was what really burned the fire and motivated me to get started again. I just need to keep winning until we meet again.”
Whilst Dubois believes himself to be a far better fighter than he was two years ago, he is not the only man to have improved. Joyce has went on to win three fights against world level opposition, most notably Joseph Parker.
With many of the top heavyweights tied up in other fight plans, a rematch between Dubois and Joyce could be closer than fans may think.
Dubois holds a strong position with the WBA which could tempt Joyce into the fight, with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger for the WBA world title.