Daniel Dubois made a big statement in the heavyweight division. He stopped Anthony Joshua in the fifth round, proving he's a real world champion.
Dubois, who's 27, got his title in an unusual way. Oleksandr Usyk gave it up to fight Tyson Fury again. But Dubois showed he deserves it. He knocked Joshua down three times before the referee stepped in.
The fight was over quickly, with Dubois dominating from start to finish.
Now Dubois has options. He could fight Joshua again, try to become undisputed champion against the Usyk-Fury winner, or defend his title against a top contender.
But there's another heavyweight who wants a piece of Dubois. Martin Bakole, a 31-year-old boxer many fighters avoid, just beat Jared Anderson. His trainer, Billy Nelson, says Bakole is much better than Dubois.
"Martin Bakole is levels above Daniel Dubois. He made him quit in sparring, broke his nose. And Bakole was only 60% in second gear. See if they think I'm talking s**t, make the fight and we'll prove it, gladly. He will annihilate Daniel. Daniel knows it."
Nelson thinks Dubois and his team are avoiding Bakole. He said, "Frank Warren's team will never, unless Martin becomes the mandatory challenger, fight Martin Bakole. We already got [Zhilei] Zhang to run away."
For now, Bakole plans to climb the rankings to force a title shot. But after Dubois' big win, he might have other plans.
