Malignaggi: "I Favor Joshua, but Dubois Is No Easy Walk"

Former world champion and current boxing analyst Paulie Malignaggi has advised against dismissing IBF heavyweight titleholder Daniel Dubois (21-2, 19 KOs) in his upcoming fight against former champion Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs).

Paulie believes that the head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki Al-Sheikh, is rushing when discussing a potential Joshua fight against the winner of the Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) vs. Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) rematch.

"I like the fights Turki Al-Sheikh is organizing, but he needs to understand that, in my humble opinion, there’s no such thing as tune-up fights. You can’t talk about them like, 'Okay, here’s what we’re doing next.' And he’s doing it again with Dubois.

Turki wants to set up a fight between Joshua and Tyson Fury. He knows it would be a massive event and understands the ages of Fury and Joshua. If Turki doesn’t organize Fury vs. Joshua right now, he’ll miss that opportunity.

I favor AJ in the fight with Dubois, but Daniel is no easy walk. You can’t just talk about setting up Joshua vs. the winner of the Usyk-Fury rematch as if Dubois doesn’t exist. You need to have a plan for both scenarios," Malignaggi said on TalkSPORT Boxing.

Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois are set to clash on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London, UK.

The Usyk-Fury rematch is scheduled for December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.