Daniel Dubois gets ready to defend his IBF Heavyweight World Title for the second time on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The 27-year-old British boxer has come a long way since being called a 'paper champion.' Dubois moved up from interim to full IBF Heavyweight World Champion after Oleksandr Usyk gave up the belt. He then proved his worth by knocking out Anthony Joshua in less than five rounds, silencing his critics.
After that big win, there was talk about a rematch with Joshua right away. But Joshua's got some small injuries that will keep him out of the ring until summer 2025.
So now, Dubois is looking at other options for his February fight. He can pick any fighter from the top 15 in the IBF rankings. Names like Zhilei Zhang, Martin Bakole, and Agit Kabayel have been mentioned.
The IBF told Bakole and Kabayel to fight each other to decide who gets the next shot at Dubois. But Kabayel didn't show up when it was time to talk money for that fight. Some people think this might mean Kabayel will get to fight Dubois in February instead.
But Dubois' trainer, Don Charles, doesn't seem keen on that idea. On the Talk Boxing podcast, former fighter turned pundit Spencer Oliver shared what Charles told him:
"It was the first that he'd heard about it and he said [Daniel] won't be fighting Kabayel next … He said stick him in an eliminator, we don't want that fight. We want Joseph Parker."
Frank Warren, who promotes Dubois, has backed this up. He says Joseph Parker, a former WBO Champion, might be the one facing Dubois in February.
As the date gets closer, fight fans will be watching to see who steps up to challenge the young champion. Dubois will want to keep his winning streak going and cement his place at the top of the heavyweight division.
