Oleksandr Usyk has had his say on the crazy heavyweight developments over the past 24 hours.
Daniel Dubois was set to defend his IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker on Saturday, on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol rematch card in Saudi Arabia.
Disaster struck on Thursday, after it was announced that Dubois was suffering from illness, which forced the champion out of the fight against Parker.
The New Zealander was able to remain on the card, after top heavyweight contender Martin Bakole stepped up to replace Dubois and agree to face Parker with just hours to go until fight night.
Usyk will be a keen observer of the fight, with the Ukrainian holding the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles following his second straight victory over Tyson Fury in December.
The unified champion touched down in Saudi Arabia on Friday ahead of the event, and wasn’t confident enough to pick a winner when asked by DAZN for a prediction on who wins between Parker and Bakole.
“I don’t know, we’ll see.”
While he may have been coy with that, Usyk did then reveal who he wants to fight next.
“I want to fight next with Dubois.”
Usyk’s wish to face Dubois may mean that the Brit goes straight into a huge undisputed match-up with his former rival, rather than take on the winner of the Parker vs. Bakole bout next.
Dubois challenged Usyk for his unified titles back in August 2023, and thought he knocked down the Ukrainian with a body shot, only for it to be ruled as a low blow.
Usyk then recovered to win the fight by ninth round stoppage, but there has been bad blood between the two men ever since.
