Daniel Dubois can't help but grin when he looks back at the year he had in 2024.

The Ring No. 2 heavyweight is sitting comfortably on an old leather chair at his trainer Don Charles' gym on the outskirts of North London when it's put to him that, not long ago, he was labelled a quitter.

"To be honest I think people are still saying the same thing," Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) tells The Ring. "So I've got more to prove. But I'm glad I've shut them up for a while now."

Dubois' big night at Wembley Stadium back in September is still fresh in his mind. He exudes the same confidence now as he did then.

His ring-walk that night told the full story. Dialled in, laser-focussed, thudding his black Fly-branded gloves together, Dubois would not be denied. It was Anthony Joshua's homecoming, but the IBF heavyweight titleholder's official coronation.

"The music got me buzzing, it proper got me going," he says.

"It was destiny. You could see by the look in my eyes that I was ready for it. I was very, very confident. Full respect to AJ because he's done what he's done but it was time to pass the baton. It's my time now.

"Before the first bell, the feeling I had, I knew I had him. Whatever I had to do I was gonna do. I knew it was gonna be my night and I wasn't gonna take no for an answer."

Dubois laughs away mention of the rematch. After all, it was a pummelling, heart-breaking defeat for Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs).

He adds: "They've gone quiet, they've gone missing. Eddie Hearn usually has a lot to say but he's gone quiet too. I've been humbling everyone.

"What else can I say? He don't want it, does he? Maybe it'll happen, you never know, I'm happy to do the rematch. The reward for it is a big one."

'AJ' has made his feelings clear. He wants a mega-fight with Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) while Dubois looks to be on an entirely different path.

Up next is Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs), and a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) is on the cards should he be victorious on February 22nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Dubois insists he's not overlooking Parker, who's undergone an admirable career resurgence under the guidance of Andy Lee, beating Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) and Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) on separate Riyadh Season cards.

But 'Dynamite' found it incredibly hard in resisting to jump the gun after Usyk's rematch win over Fury in December, unceremoniously crashing the Ukrainian's post-fight interview.

"I want my revenge," Dubois declared in the ring. Usyk looked befuddled, having stopped the Brit inside nine rounds in 2023, albeit not without controversy.

Dubois says: "It wasn't a low blow. He never grabbed his b---s until he hit the floor. When I fight him again I'll smash him up, destroy him. No controversy next time. I'm gonna handle business properly.

"But I'm still focussed on Joseph Parker. I've got to be better than him in every way. He's a man with two arms and two legs, just like me. I've got the energy, I bring the energy. My opponents have never felt an energy like this before.

"That alone will take me places and keep the title on me for a long time."

All is not lost if Dubois doesn't get his rematch with Usyk. The two-weight undisputed champ may decide to retire in the next year, at which point the belts will become fragmented.

Dubois says he 'likes the sound' of handing heavyweight starlet Moses Itauma (11-0, 9 KOs) his first defeat. He also talks up legend Lennox Lewis' career as something to aspire to.

"I'm gonna go until I've done everything I can," Dubois adds. "Beat everyone from my generation then retire on top."

We circle back to Joshua. What would Dubois do if he were in the former two-time heavyweight champion's position?

"I'd f---ing retire," he says with a smile. "I'd buy a big old island and retire."