I think if it was a genuine duck, he would have pulled out a bit earlier. The fact that it was so last minute, and Dubois has never done this before, suggests to me it was a genuine illness. I thought it was a 50/50 fight tbh, Parker the slight favourite but nothing that should have scared Dubois or Warren off of fighting. Will be interesting to see how soon the rematch is made.
Think you missed the point of the use of "Frank" in that one bud. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. It's a divisive issue though, with slightly more than half agreeing it's a duck. In any case, I don't think anyone is really interested in seeing Usyk make Dubios quit again. The first fight was beyond conclusive.
I assumed you were using Frank as a term of endearment between two boxing fans. So would Usyk be ducking Parker by fighting Dubois?
I don’t think the first fight was conclusive. I think it would have been ruled a bodyshot if the fight had been in the USA or UK instead of Poland in front of a pro Ukraine crowd. But I am honestly just done with the same fighters fighting for the belts all the time. Parker and Kabayel should get a shot because they deserve it and it got that fresh new feeling to it. Dubois was gifted that belt but he can claim he got screwed out of a KO victory which I don’t necessarily disagree with. But since he was gifted the belt he got to prove he is worthy. Scheduling a fight with Parker and then not going trough with it is dishonorable. It’s not that he shouldn’t fight Usyk, he should. But he got to fight Parker first and then he got to fight Usyk next. He got to fight both.
Was intended to be a lighthearted jab with how you were defending Dubios. I respect your opinion, just disagree with it. So nothing personal. I don't think Usyk should be fighting Dubios at all, but I wouldn't call it a duck as it's basically a mandatory/Usyk wanting to hold all the belts again. If Usyk made it his retirement fight without giving Parker and Kabayel their shots? Well that's a different story. And I swear to God if Usyk makes a 3rd AJ or Fury fight I might very well go insane!
The lure of the money and potential 2 time Undisputed Champion will prove too great for Usyk imo. If Dubois truly was sick then he will re schedule the Parker fight,if not that’s a duck ! Usyk would take the Dubois fight in a heart beat for reasons mentioned and Dubois would gladly avoid the potential banana skin in Parker and hope lightning strikes twice but only this time the controversial body punch would need to be a couple of inches higher and become Undisputed himself. Kabayel sits waiting in the wings for whatever fights happen and who ever wins and is certainly more than capable of becoming the top guy himself .
Not a duck in the sense we as boxing fans associate the term. But Dubois not honoring the fight is a swerve and going straight to Usyk will be seen as such.
I do believe Dubois was genuinely ill, but do I believe him and Frank are now taking full advantage of the situation? Most likely, yes. Like I think somebody already might've mentioned, they're probably worried that Usyk could potentially retire at any time, and they don't want to risk wasting any more time. I feel bad for Parker, but I might be in the minority here... because if I had to choose, I'd rather see the rematch with Usyk. Dubois has come on leaps and bounds since the first fight, and the "controversy" of the first fight makes it interesting, although my opinion is that it was correctly ruled an illegal shot, but still. And of course it's for undisputed. I actually didn't hold out as much hope for Parker against Dubois as some did on here. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy a lot personally, and I think he's done well, but I feel he's been a bit overrated in the process. Wilder and Zhang are both heavy punchers, but are pretty one-dimensional. The Wilder that Parker fought is clearly a shadow of his former self, and if you manage to stand up to Zhang's power and stay in the fight, he gasses out mid-way. They're pretty simple to beat if you have the boxing skills, and manage to avoid, or maybe even recover from that one monsterous punch. Less said about the Bakole fight, who let's be honest, had no business being inside that ring. Dubois is not only powerful, and a lot younger than the previous two, but also a pressure fighter. The way he went at Joshua with no fear was just amazing. I don't think Parker would've been able to handle it at all, and I could foresee another nasty Joyce-like beating coming his way, which was tough to watch. I'd be interested to see him in against Kabayel, and then maybe the winner of that can fight the Usyk-Dubois winner.
Dubois is first in line for Usyk now surely. If it wasn't calculated move then he sure fell on his feet. Poor Bakole fell on his arse
It will be the same situation as when Whyte pulled out of the Wallin fight with "an injury" then fought Fury for the title instead. Personally, I have more of a problem with Usyk choosing Dubois as his next opponent (a guy he recently beat) rather than one of his two mandatory challengers. Fans seem to prefer the idea of Usyk v Parker or Usyk v Kabayel. Usyk's bank balance prefers fighting Dubois, again...
Zelensky had the WBC belt next to him on the table in his meeting with Trump. If you are going to flaunt it then you got to defend it too. Kabayel is next in line for the WBC belt. So fight Kabayel.