Chris Algieri’s School of Thought: Destructive IBF achieves nothing by making Daniel Dubois champion

The fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title in May was a much-needed fight – not least because it took so long to actually prepare. Not only was it really important, but it was also an excellent, hard-fought and dramatic fight.

Equally refreshing was that the rematch, scheduled for December 21, was announced so quickly and smoothly. Boxing, in one of those rare cases, worked as it should – and the world could look forward to a rematch whose outcome will be just as difficult to predict.

The IBF’s intervention, which helped Usyk lose his heavyweight title and make Daniel Dubois champion, unnecessarily robbed Usyk-Fury II of its status as an undisputed heavyweight title fight and thus some of its appeal.

This political nonsense – because that’s what it really is – demeans not only the sport, but the IBF as an organization. When the sanctioning bodies behave like this, it undermines their already damaged reputation. Everyone knows about their often dubious business practices; decisions like this only highlight those practices somewhere where everyone can see them. Once again, it has been shown that boxing is such a flawed sport and how much meritocracy really counts. A champion is all too often not a champion. Usyk and Fury are rightly the two best fighters in the heavyweight division. How can taking a title away from them and making it available elsewhere be justified?

In 2014, I was stripped of my WBO junior welterweight title when I moved up to fight Manny Pacquiao, even though I was told I wouldn’t be there. This latest news makes me sad on behalf of Usyk, his supporters and his country, Ukraine. It also makes me sad for Fury, who will not have the opportunity to win the undisputed title he has spoken so highly of. It paints a bad picture for everyone involved.

I would understand better if Filip Hrgovic had beaten Dubois because he had been waiting a long time to fight for the IBF title. Dubois beat Hrgovic impressively after beating Jarrell Miller, but before that he lost to Usyk, so it makes no sense at all to elevate him to champion.

It means so much to me that I became champion by beating the defending champion Ruslan Provodnikov, not by winning a vacant title. Vacant titles are rarely contested by the number one and number two contenders; usually it is one fighter who has to face another who is considered a suitable dance partner. For an active fighter, it must be even less satisfying to be declared champion outside of the ring. If it were me, I could not consider myself a legitimate champion.

It was also the IBF that stripped Terence Crawford of his welterweight title after he defeated Errol Spence – in another long-awaited, momentous fight – to win the undisputed title. I believe they are trying to make a stand – compare their stance to, for example, the perception that the WBC is too positive about Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. But the times they have chosen to do so, they have not made sense, and the other sanctioning bodies simply don’t care that they are.

Dubois-Joshua is a great fight in its own right. Dubois showed his heart against Miller and Hrgovic – he’s a big, athletic heavyweight who can throw and take punches – so Usyk’s win over him is a good aging move. Dubois broke Hrgovic’s will and transformed his career with those two fights. Joshua has also looked phenomenal recently, having previously looked very vulnerable. Both looked vulnerable and became very dangerous at the right times – expect a thrilling shootout at Wembley on September 21.

Boxing promoters and sanctioning bodies usually play chess, not checkers. They think several moves ahead. Storming Dubois-Joshua for the IBF title isn’t about selling Dubois-Joshua; it’s about setting up another big heavyweight fight between the winner of this fight and Usyk-Fury II in the first quarter of 2025. But if Usyk beats Fury again, rematches between him and Dubois or Joshua won’t become any more attractive. Likewise, if Fury and Dubois win, Fury-Dubois would already have the appeal of being a fight between Britain’s two leading heavyweights. Even if Fury loses, we’d all still like to see him fight Joshua. The longer game doesn’t justify that Usyk-Fury II shouldn’t fight for the undisputed title.

It’s hard not to be upset by such developments. When deserving champions have to give up their titles elsewhere – who knows why? – it diminishes the importance of the championships and diminishes the sanctity of the sport. Every champion is affected when something like this happens, and the public can see the damage it does. But those who run the sport don’t care.

Dubois was asked how he felt about winning the title outside the ring. “I’m glad I have it, but I wasn’t worried about it,” he said. “It’s a formality – if you keep winning, you get those titles. For me, the belts and all that are great, but these fights themselves are like world championship fights. ‘AJ’ doesn’t need a belt to be the top attraction – it’s just about how you perform in the ring in front of a crowd.”

No one has more incentive than him to promote the IBF heavyweight title, so I can’t help but admire his mentality – which is that of a real fighter. Fighters are often told, “He’s a fighter,” but many today no longer have the mentality of such a fighter. They don’t want to fight everyone around them or don’t necessarily care about defending their titles.

Dubois showed what he can do against Hrgovic, proving once again that he is a real fighter and has what it takes to be a champion – and that he might one day win a title in the ring.