By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing
The youger brother two-time world champion Billy Dib is making a name for himself. Unbeaten super lightweight Youssef Dib (16-0, 7 KOs) talks to Fightnews.com® about his career and future plans.
You are current Australian super lightweight champion with a 16-0 record. Are you ready to step up to the next level? What super lightweights would you like to challenge?
“I definitely feel that I am ready to step up my level of competition as I look to solidify myself as a genuine world title contender in the near future. Whilst there are no specific names that I am chasing, I am confident that I can mix it with the best super lightweights in Australia and eventually make my way into the top 15 of any sanctioning body by the end of 2022.
Your brother is former world IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib. Has he been inspirational to your career?
“Billy has played a massive role in not just my boxing career, but my life. Since I was a young boy, I have always looked up to him and endeavored to follow in his footsteps as a World Champion. His perseverance in what is definitely the toughest sport in the world despite the amount of setbacks that he has been through has been a massive inspiration to me. It has shown me that when you want something enough you can definitely get there with hard work and belief in your abilities.
As a former amateur, you clashed with the best including current unified champions Josh Taylor and George Kambosos. Tell me about those fights.
“Those fights were both amazing experiences and fights that proved to me that I could mix it with the best. I fought Kambosos when I was a lot less experienced and just 7 fights deep into my amateur career and pushed him all the way to the end, unfortunately losing in the points scoring system 12:10.
“I came up against Josh Taylor in the Australia v Scotland Duels just before the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Again, I was a lot less experienced than Taylor, having only 25 fights or so at the time whilst he was an established Olympian with 170+ fights. We battled it out over the 3 rounds and I gave him all he could handle before he eked out a split decision win.
“Both of those performances gave me confidence that a rise in level of competition brings out the very best in me. To see them both succeeding the way they have in the professional ranks around my weight division is exciting as I know that with hard work and a little more experience, I will get to that level soon.
You defeated current world-rated welterweight Conor Benn. Tell me about that win.
“The fight against Conor Benn was one of my better performances and victories in the amateur ranks. We went toe-to-toe but I was smart enough to make certain adjustments after he started strongly in the first round. The experiences that I had previous to the bout helped me adapt and I was able to comfortably win the next two rounds and, in turn, the fight.
“I am thoroughly impressed with his rate of improvement in the professional ranks and keep a keen eye on him whenever he fights. Who knows, we may one day meet again in the pros and give him a chance to avenge his loss.
You are traveling to the USA this month to attend the IBF convention with your brother Billy. Will you be looking to sign with American promotional company? Will you be training and sparring in USA gyms?
“I am currently a free agent and am open to signing a promotional deal to any promoter that can steer me towards my goal of becoming World Champion. My professional career has taken a few twists and turns but I am now confident that I have the momentum to back the ability that I have always had to create some waves in the sport of boxing.
“I look forward to getting over to the US to get in some quality training and sparring whilst there.
Fellow Australian super lightweight Liam Paro is rated WBO#1 and will be challenging for the WBO crown soon. Would you be interested in a Paro v Dib bout in 2023?
“I know Liam well, having sparred together on a number of occasions and have a great relationship with his trainer and team in the DiCarlo family.
“I would never shy away from a challenge of that magnitude but I know how hard he and his team have worked to get him to the position that he’s in . I realise that I am a few fights away from commanding those sorts of fights but you can never say never.
“For now, I wish him the very best and am backing my fellow countryman all the way in his conquest to becoming World Champion.
Is there anything you would like to say to the readers of Fightnews.com®?
“I would love to thank everyone who took the time to read this and urge you all to look out for me as I continue my climb to the top of the sport.
“You will be hearing a lot more of my name in the near future and I would really appreciate all of the support that I can get, especially in my home country, Australia.”