Daniel Dubois, the IBF heavyweight champion, says he's ready to fight former champion Wladimir Klitschko. The 27-year-old British boxer told Sky Sports he'd take on the 48-year-old Ukrainian if the terms were right.
Dubois has had a strong run lately. He knocked out Anthony Joshua in September, cementing his status as IBF champion. Before that, he beat Fillip Hrgovic in June to become the full IBF champion. Six months earlier, he became the first fighter to stop Jarrell Miller.
When asked about a potential fight with Klitschko, Dubois said:
"This is that era now where anything can happen in boxing. I think there was a bit of talk about that before but he obviously didn't fancy it. 'Do I want Daniel on my case? This young lion hunting me down, nah'."
He added:
"Guys like that can come out of retirement. Look Mike Tyson had an exhibition fight the other day. It's all to play for. It's good. If all the terms are right then, yeah, let's fight."
Klitschko, who retired after losing to Tyson Fury, has wins over David Haye and Alexandr Povetkin on his record. There's talk he might come back to try and break George Foreman's record as the oldest heavyweight champion. Foreman won the title at 45.
Klitschko might also want a rematch with Tyson Fury if Fury beats Oleksandr Usyk this month.
For now, Dubois has other plans. He's set to defend his IBF title against Joseph Parker on February 22. Parker, a former WBO champion, recently beat Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.
The heavyweight division is getting interesting. With retired champions thinking about coming back and young champs like Dubois on the rise, we might see some unexpected fights between different generations.
