Frank Warren has talked up the prospect of Daniel Dubois taking on the victor of Tyson Fury’s upcoming showdown with Anthony Joshua in a world heavyweight title unification fight.
Dubois made light work of his rematch with Fabio Wardley on Saturday night, stopping his fellow Briton in only the second round in a dominant display of heavyweight boxing at London’s O2 Arena. The 29-year-old also came out on top in the pair’s previous contest back in May at Manchester’s Co-op Live, where he beat Wardley in an 11-round epic to become the WBO heavyweight champion.
It marks a convincing return to winning ways for Dubois following the Greenwich-born fighter’s defeat at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk last summer, his second loss to the Ukrainian great.
Hrgovic calls for rematch
In the immediate aftermath of Dubois’ latest victory, IBF champion Filip Hrgovic made clear his intentions as he stepped into the ring to propose a rematch with Warren’s man. Dubois saw off Hrgovic in the eighth round of their last meeting in June 2024 but the latter has battled back to stake his claim amongst the heavyweight elite, winning his last four bouts on the spin – including a stunning stoppage of Moses Itauma earlier this year.
‘All those names are there to do a unification fight next year and that’s what we’ll be working on,’ Queensbury promoter Warren said. However, it appears Warren has his eye on what would be a compelling fight against one of Fury or Joshua, who of course lock horns on December 11 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Warren on a ‘dream’ fight
Asked if a fight against the winner of Joshua and Fury would represent his ‘dream’ next bout for Dubois, Warren told The Sun: ‘Well, that remains to be seen, but what can you do with these fights? You can only keep making the best fights.
‘They’re not going to be going back and slipping back and fighting lesser guys. They’re going to have to keep fighting the champions. So hopefully it’ll be champion versus champion.’
Dubois himself was emphatic with his plans in the wake of his second defeat of Wardley, telling reporters: ‘Big fights, big money. I want to know who’s next, Frank. Who’s next?’
Dubois: ‘I refuse to lose’
Though keen to praise Wardley’s chin, Dubois said he had no intention of being denied in the capital in front of a sell-out crowd. ‘I was just prepared for a war,’ he explained. ‘Whatever he did wasn’t going to affect me: his punches or anything. I wouldn’t feel them and I was just going to go right through him.’
Dubois continued: ‘I was in the zone. I was so on it, and I wasn’t going to be denied. I refuse to lose. Fabio’s got a great chin, and he’s known for taking punishment, but I was going through him with those punches. I had to pull myself back at times and reset.’
Saturday night’s outcome took Dubois’ record to 23 victories and three losses from his 27 bouts in the professional arena, dating back to April 2017. Two of Dubois’ three defeats came at the hands of Usyk, with Joe Joyce inflicting the other on his compatriot during their coming together six years ago.
Wardley showed his class shortly after his corner threw the towel in, stating his opponent was a ‘testament to himself’ for ‘losing and coming back’ so emphatically. ‘I’ll be looking to do the exact same thing,’ he added. ‘It’s never fun to lose. It is what it is, I’ve always thrown myself in with the biggest, toughest, meanest guys around. There’s no shame in testing yourself against the best.’
