WHO’S NEXT FOR DANIEL DUBOIS?
It was another weekend to remember for Daniel Dubois as he climbed off the canvas TWICE to stop Fabio Wardley and become a two-time world champion with one of the most destructive, brutal and devastating performances in recent heavyweight boxing history.
The slight outsider going into the fight, Dubois responded to claims that he is mentally weak in the most decisive way possible to claim the WBO World Heavyweight Title.
So, who is next for the Londoner?
We’ve picked out six options for the first defence of his world title and given the likelihood of them happening next.
Fabio Wardley 2
The first option is the most obvious one, a rematch with Fabio Wardley. Promoter Frank Warren stated after the fight that there is a rematch clause, so on paper, this is the most likely option.
Will the demand be there? Absolutely. Despite dominating the majority of the fight, Wardley did drop Dubois twice and, with a little more experience at the highest level, he probably could have gotten him out of there.
He didn’t though, and Dubois made the fight his own and subsequently put in one of the best performances of his career.
The fight was a bloodbath and the majority of boxing fans are bloodthirsty. It was a Fight of the Year contender, so who wouldn’t want to see them run it back?
Wardley deserves another shot and Dubois is probably aware of that. Plus, it’ll probably be the biggest moneymaker for the new champ.
Likelihood of happening next - 9/10
Moses Itauma
Now for a really intriguing one. Probably the most talked-about heavyweight on the planet right now aside from Usyk, Fury and Joshua, Moses Itauma is widely regarded as the future of the heavyweight division.
He’s 14-0 with 12 stoppages and now finds himself as Dubois’s WBO mandatory challenger, so that alone makes the fight a lot more likely to happen next.
Itauma is trained by Ben Davison, the same trainer as Wardley, so this will be seen from their side as the perfect way to get revenge on Dubois.
In terms of ability, Itauma is nearly the complete package. A tricky southpaw with quick hands, quick feet and one-punch knockout power in both hands, the only thing that we’re not sure about as of yet is how he’d take a punch from someone who carries the power of Dubois.
He’s also promoted by Frank Warren so boxing politics won’t be a problem in making this fight and he’s on the lookout for an opponent for early August, so Dubois could well fit the bill perfectly.
It may be a little too soon for Itauma but he’s still only 21, so there would be plenty of time to rebuild if he did come up short against DDD.
What a fight this would be.
Likelihood of happening next - 9/10
Richard Riakporhe
A bit of a left-field option, the newly crowned British heavyweight champion Richard Riakporhe could well be a legitimate contender to challenge Dubois in his first world title defence.
After losing his undefeated record against Chris Billam-Smith for the cruiserweight version of Dubois’s title, he’s looked a different beast since moving up to heavyweight with three stoppage wins from three fights.
Despite his impeccable form at heavyweight, Dubois could potentially see him as a bit of an ‘easier’ option as he hasn’t fought at the level of any of the other potential opponents for Dubois.
It certainly wouldn’t be an easy fight for DDD but it would be one where he is the clear A-side and, on paper, you’d think that he would have just too much experience at the highest level for Riakporhe.
Nevertheless, Riakporhe can whack just as hard, if not harder, than the majority of heavyweights on the planet, so it would be a cracking firefight whilst it lasted.
Likelihood of happening next - 7/10
Bakhodir Jalolov
A fight that we really like the sound of is Dubois against 2x Olympic gold medallist Bakhodir Jalolov.
A name that not many casual boxing fans will be familiar with, Jalolov has dominated the amateur super-heavyweight division for the past eight years, winning gold at the past two Olympics.
He’s been switching between amateur and pro boxing since making his professional debut and he returned to the ring on Saturday night when stopping Agron Smakici in a fight which was harder than many expected it to be for the undefeated Uzbek.
A massive, elusive and hard-hitting southpaw, Jalolov would be a really tough test for Dubois and one that, when you consider the money involved — which won’t be anywhere near the amount that would be involved in fights with Itauma or a Wardley rematch — probably isn’t a fight that would be worth Dubois taking at this stage of his career.
He’s ranked in the WBO’s top 10 and he is now working with Queensberry, so he’s a more than realistic option for Dubois’s first defence.
Likelihood of happening next - 7/10
Agit Kabayel
The third option is the undefeated WBC World ‘Interim’ Heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel.
A man who has risen to stardom over the past few years, he’s claimed stoppage wins over the likes of Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang, which has now elevated him to being one of the best heavyweights on the planet.
In terms of Dubois fighting Kabayel next, it’s unlikely. Oleksandr Usyk is set to be ordered by the WBC to fight the German after his fight with Rico Verhoeven, so it would be silly for Kabayel to take a fight against Dubois when he’s on the brink of the biggest payday of his career against one of the best heavyweights of all time.
If, for some reason, it did happen though, it would be a proper test for Dubois and it would ask questions of him that have not yet been asked.
Likelihood of happening next - 4/10
Oleksandr Usyk 3
Dubois’s kryptonite on two occasions, despite how dominant Usyk was in both of those fights, it would be crazy not to suggest that DDD gets a third crack at the Usyk carrot.
Yes, it probably won’t happen; however, if Usyk wants to become undisputed again, it’ll have to happen.
With the Ukrainian superstar fighting Rico Verhoeven next week, it looks more than likely that he’ll face Agit Kabayel after that. Then, if Tyson Fury is victorious in both fights against Anthony Joshua, a potential trilogy clash with Fury could follow.
If they don’t materialise though and Dubois keeps hold of his belt, the trilogy between the pair could happen in the future but, in terms of Dubois fighting him next, it’s very unlikely.
Likelihood of it happening next - 4/10
Murat Gassiev
The final option would be a fight against the WBA ‘Regular’ World Champion Murat Gassiev. A former unified cruiserweight world champion, he’s 7-1 as a heavyweight with his best win coming when dethroning Kubrat Pulev in his last fight back in December last year.
In terms of how much this fight makes sense, to be quite honest, it doesn’t really. Gassiev isn’t ranked by the WBO due to him holding the WBA ‘Regular’ title, he isn’t one of the biggest names so it won’t be a particularly big payday for either fighter and he isn’t with Queensberry.
Don’t get us wrong, it would be an intriguing fight but really, it wouldn’t be anything more than a ‘keep busy’ defence for Dubois.
Likelihood of happening next - 2/10