Daniel Dubois looks set to secure the opponent he wanted.
The Brit, now IBF Heavyweight World Champion, is coming off a career-best performance against Anthony Joshua, knocking his countryman out in five rounds at the national stadium.
Dubois looked to build on that momentum with a voluntary defence against Joseph Parker in February, however he took ill during fight week and pulled out. Parker instead faced and beat Martin Bakole.
In the time since, Dubois – whose mandatory challenger is soon to be announced as Derek Chisora – has made it clear that he is keen on a rematch with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, who was undisputed last year but dropped the IBF belt to fulfil a contractual rematch with Tyson Fury.
Usyk also wants the fight, seeing the opportunity to become a two-time undisputed champion in the division, three-time overall having achieved it at cruiserweight too.
The Ring Magazine – owned by Turki Alalshikh who has been instrumental in the recent fights of both men – now reports that the deal is close to being finalised for July 12 at Wembley Stadium.
Usyk and Dubois faced off back in August 2023, with the Ukrainian recovering from a controversial low blow to stop the Brit inside nine rounds. Dubois’ team have remained adamant that his shot should not have been called illegal, and that he should have become unified world champion that night in Poland. A petition saw the WBA support the referee’s decision.
Though Usyk outboxed ‘DDD’ for the majority of the fight, this second meeting could be considered a close match-up given Usyk, now 38, is coming off 24 rounds with Tyson Fury and Dubois, 28, is in the form of his life with three stoppages in his last three.
