Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) and Fabio Wardley (18-0, 17 KOs) are mentioned as potential opponents for Daniel Dubois (22-1, 21 KOs) in his second defense of the IBF heavyweight belt.
"DDD", who knocked out Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) on August 21, has until April 22 to make a voluntary defense against an opponent of his choice from the IBF challenger rankings. He must then fight a mandatory challenger within the next 60 days, which will be determined by a fight between Martin Bakole and Agit Kabayel.
Until recently, there was talk of a Dubois-Joshua rematch taking place on February 22, but a few days ago, Eddie Hearn suggested that A.J. "might not be ready" for a fight so soon due to the numerous injuries he's been dealing with.
Joseph Parker, not yet in the IBF top-15, has beaten Deontay Wilder and Zhang Zhilei in his most recent appearances. Wardley, No. 12 in the IBF rankings, earned his most valuable career victory on Oct. 12 by stopping Frazier Clark.
Joseph Parker's trainer Andy Lee also said the other day that they would be willing to challenge Daniel Dubois for an IBF world heavyweight title fight on Feb. 22 if a rematch with Anthony Joshua doesn't happen.
