Daniel Dubois is gearing up for the second defence of his IBF Heavyweight World Title.
The 27-year-old Brit was elevated from interim to full champion when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt earlier this year. Dubois silenced any doubters saying that he was a ‘paper champion’ by defeating Anthony Joshua by knockout inside five rounds.
Despite an immediate rematch being floated, ‘AJ’ has some niggling injuries that will keep him out until summer 2025. Dubois, not content on sitting around, is slated to fight on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
It will be a voluntary defence of his belt, meaning he can face a contender within the sanctioning body’s top 15. That includes the likes of Zhilei Zhang, Martin Bakole and Agit Kabayel.
Bakole and Kabayel were recently ordered to fight an eliminator for the mandatory spot, which will be called to take place later next year. Kabayel pulled out of the purse bids at the last minute leading many to believe that he would be getting a straight shot at the title in February.
Speaking on the Talk Boxing podcast, former fighter turned pundit Spence Oliver shot down those rumours after a conversation with Dubois’ trainer Don Charles.
“I spoke to Don [Charles] about that … It was the first that he’d heard about it and he said [Daniel] won’t be fighting Kabayel next … He said stick him in an eliminator, we don’t want that fight. We want Joseph Parker.”
Promoter Frank Warren has confirmed that former WBO Champion Joseph Parker is indeed in the running for the February fight.
