Derek earned mandatory title challenger status by defeating Wallin in February
Daniel Dubois. Photo – Getty Images
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) will assign IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois a mandatory fight against his compatriot Dereck Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs), the second-ranked boxer in the organization.
Read also: Warren: Chisora is mandatory challenger for Dubois' IBF title
The fight will be officially confirmed on April 22, with a deadline of June 21. At the same time, as The Ring reports from an IBF representative, Dubois' unification fight against WBO/WBC/WBA/IBO heavyweight titleholder Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) will take precedence over the mandatory.
Usyk, let us recall, fought Dubois in August 2023. In the fifth round, the Briton hit Alexander below the belt, for which he received a fine. In the ninth round, the Ukrainian knocked out Daniel. Dubois later said that he was “robbed” and that the referee was obliged to record a knockout in the fifth round.
Read also: Warren: Hopefully we can announce Usyk-Dubois rematch soon
On February 22, the 38-year-old Ukrainian attended a boxing event in Riyadh, where he personally watched the victory of interim WBO champion Joseph Parker over Martin Bakole. After the fight, Usyk confirmed his desire to fight Dubois in the next round and become the absolute champion again. This fight could tentatively take place in July-August 2025.
At the same time, the WBO officially determined that the Ukrainian will defend his championship belt. The Ukrainian's opponent should be WBO champion Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 KOs). Refusal to fight may result in Alexander losing his WBO championship belt.
Read also: Warren: Two things could prevent Usyk from fighting Parker: if Alexander vacates the WBO belt or if he has a unification fight with Dubois
On the night of February 8-9, 41-year-old Chisora defeated Otto Wallin by unanimous decision: 114-112, 116-110, 117-109. The Swede was knocked down twice during the fight. This fight was positioned as a qualifier for the second line of the IBF rating.
Read also: Chisora: Everyone says I don't deserve to fight Dubois or Usyk, but they forget that I sell out arenas
After that fight, Derek addressed the crowd to determine his next opponent: the biggest excitement among the spectators was caused by the persons of Usyk and Anthony Joshua.