Daniel Dubois’ emphatic knockout of Anthony Joshua last month proved that he is worthy of being a heavyweight world champion. Despite initial assumption that a rematch between the British duo would be around the corner, it appears as though the likelihood of ‘AJ’ being ready for the rematch is becoming lesser and lesser. As a result, a number of new candidates are hopeful of a shot at dethroning Dubois in February.
‘Triple D’ needed just five rounds to pull off the upset and halt Joshua, making a first successful defence of the IBF crown and becoming recognised as potentially the future of the division, once Joshua, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk hang up the gloves.
Nevertheless, Joshua was itching for the opportunity to avenge the defeat, and the proposed date of February 22nd provided an ideal opportunity for the victor of the rematch to align themselves for a shot at Fury or Usyk, with the pair scheduled for their own rematch on December 21st.
However, Eddie Hearn has since admitted that the February date could be too soon for Joshua, who has not fully recovered from his devastating defeat and is still suffering from injuries.
With the IBF confirming that Dubois is free to make an optional defence of his belt before April 22nd, when either Martin Bakole or Agit Kabayel will be called for a mandatory defence, there are a number of candidates who could land themselves a surprise shot at world honours in four months’ time.
Joseph Parker
Joseph Parker holds the WBO interim heavyweight title and as such is not ranked by the IBF, although that hasn’t stopped the New Zealander’s trainer from calling for the title challenge.
The 32-year-old has impressed on Saudi shows over the last twelve months with three increasingly difficult wins, stopping Simon Kean before decision wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang thrust him back into the world title picture.
After an extremely active five months spell, Parker has not fought since March and will likely hope to secure a fight date soon rather than put all of his eggs into the WBO basket and he may even vacate the belt if it opens the door for a shot at Dubois’ throne.
Zhilei Zhang
Although China’s Zhilei Zhang lost out to Parker at the beginning of the year, the 41-year-old veteran was able to bounce back and knock Wilder out in June to get back to winning ways and revitalise hopes of a world title shot.
‘Big Bang’ is the next available challenger after Kabayel and Bakole and would likely be seen as the most dangerous but most exciting candidate for Dubois, given how Zhang twice dismantled Joe Joyce – one of two men to hold a win over the current IBF champion.
The hard-hitting southpaw predicted a Dubois knockout prior to his showdown with Joshua but asked for a title challenge of his own during the aftermath, and he finds himself well positioned to capitalise on his world ranking if Dubois is willing to roll the dice and attempt that he is worthy of champion status once again.
Fabio Wardley
If Dubois cannot fight one fan-favourite Briton in Joshua, why not take on another in Wardley? An in-house Queensberry contest would be one that Frank Warren would either love or hate but the hype surrounding right now Wardley makes him one of the most talked about heavyweights on the planet and he is hopeful of a world title shot next year.
Wardley ran through Frazer Clarke in just one-round in their rematch last month and now sits at #12 in the IBF rankings. The undefeated Ipswich sensation sticks out as a high-profile opponent for a fight in which Dubois would presumably enter the ring as a strong favourite, meaning Wardley could be a lower risk option than other potential dance-partners ahead of a fruitful clash with either Usyk, Fury or Joshua later on in 2025.
Whether Anthony Joshua will be ready for February 22nd remains to be seen but it seems as though Dubois will attempt a second defence of his belt on that date regardless of whom may be in the opposing corner – showing the true ‘take on all comers’ attitude that many great heavyweight champions have portrayed in the past.
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