Daniel Dubois has no interest in taunting Billy Joe Saunders following the 2008 Olympian’s loss to Canelo Alvarez last weekend. The heavyweight contender came in for a huge amount of abuse when he was counted out against Joe Joyce at the backend of last year and Saunders was quick to offer his opinion on the matter when it occurred.
With Saunders nursing severe facial damage courtesy of Canelo’s heavy hands, a similar fate endured by Dubois when taking on Joyce, one might expect the softly spoken 23-year-old to retaliate but Dubois focus is instead on his next fight against Bogdan Dinu on June 5th for the WBA interim title.
“I understand why everyone has wanted to make comparisons between me and Billy, but it’s time to move on now,” said Dubois. “Billy has had his injury, people have said what they’ve had to say but now it’s time to let him rest, heal and be with his family.
“It’s important for me to move on too. I’ve got a fight on June 5th with Bogdan Dinu that I need to get ready for.”
The heavyweight encounter with Romania’s Dinu will be Dubois’ first taste of action since suffering his injury and he is keen to put the memories of that fateful night behind him. A win over Dinu will propel Dubois up the heavyweight rankings and he’s fully aware of how big a test this imminent bout is.
“Over six months of frustrations are ready to come out. You are going to see the best version of Daniel Dubois in that ring on June 5th. I will beat Bogdan Dinu up and knock him out.
“Dinu is a decent test. He does some things very well. He has fast hands and can move. He’s ranked number two for a reason, and he’ll see this as a chance to get a title.”
“I need to do what I do, show people why they called me ‘Dynamite’ in the first place. It’ll be a devastating performance, I promise you. A huge knockout to put myself back on the map.”