An all-British world title fight could well be on the horizon for later this summer and predictions have already started flying in.
Long before Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk squared off to sort out the first undisputed champion in 25 years, it was rumoured that the winner would be immediately stripped of one of the belts.
The IBF governing body has a history of acting quickly in accordance with its own rules having relieved Fury of their belt just days after he defeated Wladimir Klitschko back in 2015.
It is now thought they could do the same to Usyk who has a rematch contracted with Fury and will therefore not be able to face his mandatory challenger.
That man is Daniel Dubois who picked up the IBF interim title with his impressive stoppage win over Fillip Hrgovic out in Saudi Arabia on the Matchroom versus Queensberry card on June 1.
It is widely expected that he will either be upgraded to full champion or fight for the vacant belt against Anthony Joshua who is coming off a trio of knockout wins against Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.
One man who has spared both and seen them spar each other is Frazer Clarke who told Seconds Out he is siding with Joshua if the two do meet.
“It’s a little bit interesting because I’m one of the few people that have sat this close to the ring and seen them exchange leather before. I still say Joshua is the favourite but everyone said Hrgovic was the favourite but in heavyweight boxing sometimes you have to rip that out of the rule book, it doesn’t always count all the time.”
He then had plenty of praise for Dubois after what he has seen in the gym but still picked AJ to get the victory.
“I’ve seen them spar lots of rounds, I’ve seen them have good exchanges, Anthony was always that bit further ahead but father time happens and Daniel has grown and matured as a fighter. I still have ‘AJ’ favourite just cause of the experience. If Daniel took the same 30 shots off Joshua as he did Hrgovic we’d be having a different conversation.”
