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Daniel Dubois rose from his sickbed and stepped straight into mega-millions negotiations to fight Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.

Talk about landing on your feet!

When Dynamite Daniel was medically advised to withdraw from the defence of his IBF title against Joseph Parker he sustained losses in excess of £7million from Saturday’s bonanza purse plus months of expenditure on his training camp.

Oleksandr Usyk recovers to floor and knock out Daniel Dubois in unified  heavyweight title fight | 'Tyson Fury next!' | Boxing News | Sky Sports

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And the cynics started rumouring that he had ducked Parker!

The credible conversations here in the new fight capital of the world concern a shift from the plan for Usyk to fight the winner between Dubois and Parker.

Now big-time boxing’s Saudi paymasters envisage Dubois and Usyk providing the gala opening in October of the next Riyadh Season of sport, culture and entertainment.

At a stroke overnight a worry that Dubois might be derailed, temporarily at least, from his bid for greatness dissipated.

His promoter Frank Warren made this guarded observation: ‘Perversely, this setback with his illness is opening up more tremendous opportunities for Daniel.’

Robert Smith, general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control who sanction these huge promotions in Saudi Arabia and endorsed the diagnosis of swollen glands says: ‘Daniel could not be allowed to box this weekend but oddly this might make it easier for him to secure the fight with Usyk.’

So it seems. The Ukrainian maestro who became the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis a quarter century ago came here expecting to watch Dubois and Parker decide which of them he would fight next.

After watching Parker burst the gigantic balloon of Martin Bakole, the last-second replacement for Dubois, Usyk made it clear he would not mind waiting a few months before restoring the IBF belt to his collection and banking another fortune. He said: ‘I am enjoying my rest with my family since beating Tyson (Fury) again (just nine weeks ago).

‘I plan for only two more fights to end my career. Yes, only two. I thought Joseph might win here but if it is to be Daniel next, okay.’

That stands to be their second meeting. Usyk stopped Dubois in the ninth round in Poland in August 2023, leaving Team Dynamite complaining that a body shot which dropped him earlier in the fight should not have been ruled a low blow.

Parker is the most aggrieved party now. When Dubois pulled out on Thursday he found himself obliged to go through another giant road block instead of fighting for a world title.

Bakole did not arrive from his Congo homeland until Saturday morning and although he would be jet-lagged and massively overweight at well over 300 lbs Parker was advised not to accept this problematic, menacing monster as the replacement.

A proud Samoan warrior in his blood-line, this renascent former world champion Kiwi and one of the most likeable boxers in the hard old game said: ‘To hell with it. I’ll deal with him.’ So he did. Landing a warning salvo from the first bell. Absorbing three or four hefty clubbings. Then bringing Bakole down in round two like King Kong from the top of the Empire State Building. With with a right-hand blow to the top of the temple reminiscent of the so-called Phantom Punch with which Muhammad Ali knocked out the fearsome Sonny Liston in their second fight.

Job brilliantly done, Parker said: ‘Right. So where’s my world title fight now?’ Not against London’s Daniel Boy it appears. But he did raise one important question. Will Usyk v Dubois be for the undisputed title or the unification of three of the four championship belts?

The WBC, WBA and IBF are in unison. But the WBO decided at the weekend that the winner of Dubois and Parker will be the mandatory challenger for their belt. If Parker is to be squeezed out of the main equation, his best recourse will be to fight someone else for what would be the vacant WBO belt.

That is the least he deserves, even it hastens the break-up of the undisputed regime.

Daniel Dubois‘ reaction to his fight with Joseph Parker being cancelled has been revealed.

Dubois was set to defend his IBF heavyweight title against Parker in Riyadh this weekend, but on Thursday he had to pull out of the fight due to illness.

Parker will instead take on top heavyweight contender Martin Bakole, who has taken the fight on 48 hours notice and did not even arrive into Saudi Arabia until the early hours of Saturday morning.

“Why Did We Call The Doctor”: Daniel Dubois True Feelings Revealed On Joseph Parker Fight Pull Out

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It would have been the latest IBF title defence for Dubois following his destructive knockout win over Anthony Joshua in September, and his promoter Frank Warren revealed at the weigh-in just what ‘DDD’ made of having to withdraw from Saturday’s fight.

“Daniel wasn’t feeling good. He was given some medication and told to wait overnight and he didn’t feel any better. The British Boxing Board of Control doctor saw him and immediately said he can’t fight.

“He was absolutely gutted, so much so he said ‘why did we call the doctor?’ This is boxing at the highest level. You can’t have guys going into significant fights like this if you’re not right. You can’t do it. You don’t get another option.

“How many times do we hear fighters say after fights say ‘I went into that fight with a bad hand, or my leg hurt.’ It’s irrelevant. It means nothing to me that. I want to know before. Live to fight another day, that’s the most important thing.”

What the future now holds for Dubois is currently unknown, but he could be set for an undisputed heavyweight title showdown with Oleksandr Usyk after the Ukrainian announced that he wants to face ‘DDD’ next.

Oleksandr Usyk could get his wish of fighting Daniel Dubois next after ‘Triple D’s’ withdrawal from his clash with Joseph Parker.

Dubois was due to defend his IBF heavyweight title against Parker as chief support for Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol’s rematch on Saturday night.

However, Dubois fell ill with a viral infection and was subsequently removed from the bill on the doctors’ advice.

READ: Oleksandr Usyk Names The One Heavyweight Who Was Harder To Beat Than Tyson Fury

As a result, Martin Bakole has stepped in on two days’ notice to replace the Brit.

Prior to the shocking development, WBA, WBO and WBC champion, Usyk told talkSPORT.com of his intentions to box the winner of Dubois vs Parker for the undisputed crown in his penultimate professional outing.

“We wait for a fight on February 22 between Daniel and Joseph,” he said during an exclusive interview on the London Eye.

“Whoever wins this fight between Daniel and Joseph, I have already made the fight.”

But following the collapse of Dubois vs Parker, Usyk has now shifted his attention to the champion.

“I want to fight next with Dubois,” he told DAZN.

As Dubois is out of the fight, the IBF belt is also off the table.

Parker will instead defend his WBO ‘interim’ title against Bakole to decide Usyk’s next mandatory challenger.

The WBO has the power to order Usyk to fight the winner of Bakole vs Parker next, but newly elected president Gustavo Olivieri has told talkSPORT.com that they will also consider the possibility of stepping aside and allowing Usyk to box Dubois in a four-belt shootout should the relevant parties push for it.

“The winner of Bakole-Parker will be mandatory for Usyk,” Oliveri told talkSPORT.com

“The question is when will the mandatory will be enforced.

“It remains to be seen because of the existence of a rotation agreement (order of mandatories) between the sanction bodies.

“Most likely, the WBO is next in line, however, if a unification request (Usyk vs Dubois) is submitted to the Championship Committee, it would certainly be considered as unifications take precedence over mandatories and serve the best interests of boxing.”

The WBO has always favoured making unification fights over ordering mandatories so it appears a Usyk vs Dubois rematch for the undisputed crown is a real possibility for both of their next fights.

Usyk knocked out Dubois in August 2023, but en route to the eventual stoppage the Ukrainian was dropped by a punch that divided the boxing world.

Some claimed the shot was legal and should have been counted while others insisted it had strayed low.

Ultimately, the referee determined it was an illegal blow and so Usyk was given four minutes to recover before coming back to stop Dubois in the ninth round with a stiff jab.

Daniel Dubois has been in the ring with both Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua, and may be again soon.

The young Brit’s first world title tilt came against Usyk in August of 2023 after the Ukrainian had taken three of the four major belts from Joshua and defended them in a rematch.

Dubois tried to impose himself on the southpaw champion but was largely unsuccessful save for a moment in the fifth round when he would drop Usyk. It was immediately ruled a low blow and Usyk was given ample time to recover before getting back into his rhythm and scoring his first stoppage in three fights. Dubois was put down in both the eighth and ninth before failing to stand for the referee’s count.

Daniel Dubois Reveals Who Hit Harder Between Oleksandr Usyk And Anthony Joshua

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While Usyk went on to become undisputed champion with a win over Tyson Fury, Dubois bounced back with wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic, fighting himself into a position to hold the interim IBF belt and subsequently the full title when Usyk vacated it.

His first defence came against Joshua at Wembley Stadium, and the 28-year-old would retain his strap with an assured and destructive performance that saw him drop ‘AJ’ three times before the fifth round stoppage. Joshua did land a few heavy shots of his own in an attempt to turn the tide, one of which Dubois says felt like a ‘bomb going off.’

Despite that, in a recent feature with the Ring Magazine ‘DDD’ said Tyson Fury, who he has only sparred, hits harder than Joshua and that Usyk hits harder than Fury. A surprising outcome given ‘AJ’ is known as the knockout puncher between the three.

Dubois puts his belt on the line against Joseph Parker this weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a win all but guaranteeing him a rematch with Usyk for the undisputed championship.

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