Daniel Dubois stormed the ring to interrupt Oleksandr Usyk’s celebrations after his latest win over Tyson Fury and demanded “revenge” in the form a unification bout with the Ukrainian.
Usyk retained his WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight world championship belts by finishing 116-112 ahead on all three judges’ scorecards in Riyadh to claim a unanimous decision victory over an angry Fury – who abruptly left the ring and called the decision an “early Christmas gift” from the judges to Usyk.
As the Ukrainian superstar celebrated his hard-fought triumph, IBF champion Dubois decided that was the moment to climb into the ring and confront the champion, demanding a rematch with him.
Dubois was knocked out in the ninth round by Usyk in August 2023 but has rebuilt impressively since then, culminating in his explosive knockout victory over Anthony Joshua in September to retain the IBF world title he was given when Usyk surrendered it over the summer.
In their first fight, Dubois claimed he was cheated out of victory after flooring the Ukrainian with a body shot in the fifth round, which the referee ruled a low blow and gave him additional time to recover from.
So the 27-year-old Brit has decided he now wants vengeance for that perceived injustice.
“I want my revenge. I want my revenge Usyk,” shouted Dubois after climbing into the ring during the celebrations and taking the microphone. “Well done on tonight, well done. God bless.
“I want my revenge for the robbery last time. Let’s get it, let’s go. Where’s Frank [promoter Frank Warren]? Make it happen.”
The timing of Dubois’ demand could be seen as strange, given he already has a tricky world title defence against former world champion Joseph Parker scheduled for February – a fight he would need to win for an Usyk rematch to become reality.
Ever the cool customer, Usyk seemed happy enough to acquiesce to the Dubois request, as he called upon Saudi Arabia’s boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh to arrange a rematch.
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Usyk replied: “Your Excellency, make the fight with Daniel Dubois. Thank you so much.”
Later, in his post-fight press conference, Usyk added: “I can do more. I’m ready to fight (Dubois), no problem. Next fight no problem. Now I want to go home and rest.”
Dubois’ controversial tactic came in for some critcism with many social media users calling him “embarrassing” for trying to steal Usyk’s thunder.
On talkSport, pundit Spencer Oliver said: “Let him [Usyk] enjoy his moment. He’s proven he’s the best. There was no need for Daniel to do that. Let’s not forget, he still has to fight Joseph Parker.”
