Daniel Dubois recently announced himself as a legitimate heavyweight world champion with an emphatic knockout of Anthony Joshua.
The 27-year-old had previously been elevated to IBF champion when formerly undisputed Oleksandr Usyk – who has beaten both Dubois and ‘AJ’ – vacated the belt.
Dubois entered the ring against Joshua an underdog but flipped the script by scoring a knockdown in the first round. He would put his countryman down twice more before ending the contest entirely in the fifth to mark a career-best performance.
Post-fight, promoter Eddie Hearn said his man Joshua would want an immediate rematch. Dubois welcomed the prospect, stating that he would end it even more emphatically second time around.
Since then, Hearn has revealed that Joshua likely won’t be ready in time for Dubois’ next fight in February and is set to return in summer of 2025, perhaps waiting to see if a fight against Tyson Fury – who rematches Usyk this December – could be on the cards.
That leaves Dubois with a date but no opponent, and former WBO World Champion Joseph Parker is ready to step in, as per trainer Andy Lee.
Parker is ready. https://t.co/Syjz4xRdHV
— Andy Lee (@AndyLeeBoxing) October 29, 2024
Lee has been in the corner for Parker’s two best wins – Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang. The New Zealand native is in the form of his career and is perhaps the most deserving contender out there. He is currently not ranked with the IBF due to holding the WBO Interim title following his points win over Zhang.
An announcement should be imminent as to Dubois’ next move, with the likes of Agit Kabayel and Martin Bakole also vying for a shot at the belt, though they have been ordered to fight each other to determine the number one contender.
