Young and talented coach Shane McGuigan believes that his ward – WBA World heavyweight champion Briton Daniel Dubois (18-1, 17 KOs) – is ready to fight with the division’s elite.
The mentor talked about who is the most stylistically uncomfortable opponent for Dubois. It turns out that this is not the hefty and uncomfortable WBC compatriot Tyson Fury, not the Ukrainian techie Oleksandr Usyk, who owns all the other belts of the division, not the British puncher Anthony Joshua, and not even the lightning-fast puncher from the USA Deontay Wilder.
“Well, look, Dan is now only 25 years old. There seems to be no hurry for us. But we are ready even now to fight Fury. The thing is, at some point in your career, you still have to let your fighter off the leash. To be honest, speaking specifically about style, the most uncomfortable opponent for Dan was and remains Joe Joyce. Don’t underestimate Dubois’ punching power. If he hits clean, it’s a knockout,” says McGuigan.
In 2020, promoter Frank Warren (queensberry promotions) brought together the unbeaten Dubois and Joyce in a head-to-head fight. He clearly put on a young knockout, but he was mistaken – he lost ahead of schedule. Despite this, Dubois was ahead of Joyce – he hit the road in the summer in the USA and took the WBA World belt from the local Trevor Bryan, and in December he will make his debut defense against ex-cruiser from South Africa Kevin Lerena.
Interestingly, McGuigan trains not only Daniel, but also his younger sister, Caroline Dubois. The other day, the mentor said that his ward is the first in line for Usyk.