Joseph Parker will no longer face Daniel Dubois at the “Last Crescendo”, set just two days ahead, due to illness forcing Dubois’ team to make an unprecedented choice: proceed with the fight despite Dubois’ compromised health or prioritize his wellbeing over it. Martin Bakole from DRC will step in as Dubois’ replacement. This dramatic turnaround came at a crucial juncture: proceed despite compromised health or prioritize wellbeing over matchup.
Fighting Parker with full health would have been challenging enough; taking him on with illness could have had serious repercussions. Due to these potential ramifications, Dubois made the difficult choice to withdraw from this fight; though this meant forgoing potential career-high earnings as well as bearing financial consequences of nearly three months’ training camp setup expenses. Don Charles, Dubois’ longtime trainer and 2024 BBBoC Trainer of the Year shared more about why this difficult choice had to be made with Sky Sports in an interview.
The High Cost of Health Over Wealth
Charles maintains that the right call was made, emphasizing the importance of health and safety over the sport. This wasn’t the first time Dubois had faced a health scare during training, prompting the team to delve deeper into the recurring issue. Despite the significant financial and career implications, the priority was Dubois’ health. The team is now investigating why these health setbacks continue to occur, underscoring their commitment to their fighter’s long-term well-being.
Anticipation Builds for a Dubois vs. Usyk Rematch
Looking forward, boxing fans eagerly anticipate Dubois’ return, hoping it could set up a potential rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Dubois for undisputed heavyweight championship in Summer 2018. However, Joseph Parker as Usyk’s mandatory challenger for his WBO belt remains on the horizon; their previous clash ended controversially due to an unfortunate referee decision which favoured Usyk, leaving fans eager for clarity in another matchup between Usyk and Dubois; their previous encounter ended abruptly due to an unfortunate referee decision which gave Usyk victory; fans were eagerly expecting clarity within another fight and it seems set in summer 2018.
As discussions and negotiations progress, Dubois must decide between an interim fight or waiting until his chance to directly face Usyk again is presented. His decision could drastically change both his career trajectory and that of heavyweight boxing as an entire division.