Every Thursday here at FightHype, we make some space for a money shot of salty, sometimes NSFW truth from the depths of my bulbous, bulging sack. So, pull your hair back and brace yourself. This week, we have comments/questions regarding Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua, Tank Davis, and the future of the heavyweight division.
Dubois?
Hey Magno.
I won’t lie, I was very surprised that Daniel Dubois A) Beat Anthony Joshua and B) Beat him the way he did. I never honestly thought much of Dubois, but was I wrong? Is Dubois better than I thought or is Joshua worse than I thought? Maybe a mix of the two? I’d love to hear your usual fair and balanced take on this.
– Peter H.
Hey Peter.
It’s a mix of the two-- Joshua is not as good as hyped and Dubious is better than acknowledged.
Joshua was always a flawed fighter. The guy’s body is an absolute war machine. I don’t think an army of genetic engineers could design a body better built for battle. His mind, however, is brittle and prone to distraction/doubt/confusion/fits of delusion. That’s always been AJ’s weakness and it will continue to be a fatal flaw until the day he finally retires. Against Dubois, he had no plan B and didn’t have the wherewithal to change course when things took a bad turn early on. You could say that he was concussed with that first big shot and was never able to get his head together after that, but I think that’s being very generous with him. With the exception of the Klitschko fight way back in 2017, he’s never really been able to change the course of events when things started going poorly. In this fight, his corner also failed him. They had nothing to offer and seemed ill-prepared to offer any meaningful advice or inspiration. It’s easy to have your guy look good against Francis Ngannou and Otto Wallin, but the truth comes out when he meets some pushback. And, I guess, Joshua seeking them out and hiring them was another sign of the ten cent mind inside the billion dollar body.
Dubois, meanwhile, was clearly slept on. There’s been a lot of doubt regarding his mental toughness since that Joe Joyce fight. And the Usyk fight, where he saw he could hurt Usyk to the body, but never went back there and eventually went away with a whimper, fortified that negative reputation. But the guy’s had a nice recent run and deserves some serious respect. Still, I’ll be the wet blanket and point out that he just beat a very flawed Anthony Joshua and that his stoppage of Filip Hrgovic before that was mostly a back-and-forth affair ended on cuts. He’s big and strong, though, and that will always make him a threat.
The Future of the Heavyweight Division
Magno.
I know you’re a man who never shies away from taking a stand or making a prediction. So, let’s hear your take on what the future will look like for the heavyweight division for the next 2 or 3 years, starting with Usyk-Fury 2 in December. Thanks.
– Eddie
Hey Eddie.
I think Fury beats Usyk in December, stalling the division at the top as the two parties meet for a rubber match. I think Usyk wins that rubber match. In the meantime, Dubois will get laid out by one of two stay busy fights he takes while waiting on the winner of the Usyk-Fury series. Then, Joseph Parker moves to the front of the line and fails at dethroning Usyk sometime in late 2025 or early 2026. Meanwhile, plans go ahead for Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury in the fall or winter of 2025. And while all this is happening, both Martin Bakole and Zhilei Zhang will get upset by some lower-tier opposition. I know, these are very specific predictions. But I’m gonna save them in a secure spot because I’ll look like an absolute genius if they all come through.
Tank’s Next Opponent
Hi Paul.
I wanted to know if you’ve heard anything yet about who Tank Davis may be fighting next. The rumor passed around by guys like Mike Coppinger and Dan Rafael is that Lamont Roach is the guy. I hope that’s just a rumor because I am not paying PPV money to see Roach as a B-side. Nobody wants to see that. Can you confirm or deny those rumors and if it’s not Roach, who do you think has the inside track on a Tank fight?
– C.W.
Hey C.W.
I DEFINITELY hope that Lamont Roach doesn’t land the Tank Davis fight. That would be a real letdown. As a fan, I’d almost prefer for him not to fight until next year, just to see if anything bigger/better comes around and if Vasiliy Lomachenko might find himself “in the mood” for Tank. I’ve heard that Roach rumor from the same people you have, but I really don’t believe anything-- especially anything PBC-related-- from establishment media. I still say Rayo Valenzuela could find himself in that B-side slot and, to be honest, that’s not a whole lot better than Roach. We’ll see.
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