Daniel's opponent in the fight, which is planned to take place in London, will be Joshua, Itauma or Parker, but definitely not Klitschko
Oleksandr Usyk, Daniel Dubois, photo – Getty Images
The opponent of IBF world champion Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) in his next fight, which will likely take place in July in London, could be WBC, IBO, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk , 41-year-old Briton Dereck Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs) or another unnamed heavyweight.
Daniel's promoter Frank Warren reported this:
“Daniel is definitely fighting in July, but we're just working on who it's going to be. Usyk or Chisora? It's three, really, but I'm not going to tell you who. Hopefully it'll be confirmed in the next week or so.”
It is expected that the match will take place in the second month of summer at one of London's stadiums – Wembley or Tottenham Hotspur.
Let us recall that the International Boxing Federation (IBF) decided to appoint Dubois a mandatory fight against his compatriot Dereck Chisora, the second number in the organization's rating. This fight will be officially approved on April 22, and the deadline for its holding is June 21. At the same time, Dubois' potential unification fight against WBO/WBC/WBA/IBO heavyweight title holder Alexander Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) will take precedence over the mandatory one.
Read also: Whyte: Dubois won't fight Chisora
The mysterious third boxer mentioned by Warren may be another British heavyweight, former world champion Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs), the IBF's No. 5. Another option is WBO Inter-Continental and WBA International heavyweight champion Moses Ithauma (11-0, 9 KOs), also in the organization's top 10, but he will most likely have his next fight in Glasgow at the end of May.
The name of WBO world champion Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) is also mentioned in the press, but the New Zealander is not in the IBF top 15. At the same time, Warren ruled out the possibility of the return to the ring in this fight of the legendary Ukrainian Vladimir Klitschko, who turned 49 at the end of March.
Read also: Dubois: I want Usyk, Parker or Joshua, one of those big three
Dubois himself previously confirmed once again that he intends to meet Usyk in his next fight. The Briton announced that their likely fight is being prepared for July at Wembley Stadium.
At the end of February, Usyk also confirmed his desire to hold his next fight against Dubois, who had previously challenged Alexander to a rematch, and become the absolute champion again. It was reported that this fight could take place in July-August 2025.
At the same time, the WBO has 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 could result in Oleksandr losing his WBO championship belt, but Usyk has options to avoid this. One of them is an official request to the WBO to postpone the fight.