International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois has expressed his desire for a rematch with Anthony Joshua, despite being scheduled to defend his title against Joseph Parker in February.

“As a fighter, I would love to get in the ring and put the final touches on our rivalry,” Dubois told Mirgor.

“But as it is, I’m just really excited to get out there and defend that belt again. I’m sure a rematch with Joshua could happen in the future, who knows? So yeah, I’m just ready to continue on my journey.”

The champion’s eagerness for a second bout comes after his spectacular knockout victory over Joshua at Wembley Stadium in September. However, the former two-time world champion won’t return to action until at least May 2024, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed this development, stating, “The WBC has received a formal request to sanction this fight for the interim title, and we will accept it. We’ve been clear and transparent in supporting the best possible matchups, especially in the heavyweight division.”

Anthony Joshua could regain world title without Daniel Dubois revenge or facing Fury vs Usyk winner

An avenue might have opened up to allow Anthony Joshua a shot at a world title, without the former champion needing to face Daniel Dubois, Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua, a former two-time heavyweight champion, failed to take the IBF title from Dubois in September, losing to his fellow Briton by knockout at Wembley Stadium.

Joshua, 35, had been linked to a rematch with Dubois, 27, but the latter is now set for a title defence against Joseph Parker in February. Meanwhile, Fury and Usyk will clash for the unified belts on 21 December – seven months after Usyk outpointed the “Gypsy King”.

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Usyk became undisputed champion with his win in May, but he soon vacated the IBF belt, meaning interim champion Dubois was elevated.

The Ukrainian will defend the remaining major titles against Fury, including the WBC gold, yet the organisation has agreed to sanction an interim title fight between Zhilei Zhang and Agit Kabayel. And Joshua could challenge the winner of that bout, according to WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman.

Sulaiman told Sky Sports on Monday (2 December): “The WBC has received a formal request to sanction such a fight for the interim title, and the WBC will accept to sanction it.

“Why? Because we have done everything possible for the past several years to reach the ultimate, great fights in each weight category, especially [at heavyweight].

“All this time we have been perfectly clear and transparent that the WBC will not impose any mandatory that goes against having the ultimate undisputed champion, because they’re fighting the best available.

“There’s no better fight than Usyk vs Fury, so with that fight happening and then the possibilities for the future, we have accepted the No 2 and No 3 to fight for the interim title. Keep them active, and keep the division having the best fights possible.” Kabayel is ranked second, while Zhang is actually seeded fourth – below the much-avoided Martin Bakole.

“For the winner on 21 December, there’s many options,” Sulaiman continued. “Why should anyone get in the way of a third fight? Or the fight again for undisputed [against Dubois]? Or any high-level event, while we can accommodate the champion [and have a] fight for an interim title, where the winner is going to be a high-level, sensational possibility? So, we’re all for having undisputed champions.”

Daniel Dubois will be looking to successfully defend his heavyweight title for a second time against the Kiwi after the Joshua rematch fell through

Daniel Dubois is scheduled to make the second defence of his IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker on February 22 in Riyadh.

The showdown between the two stars is set to co-headline a stacked card in Saudi Arabia. Dubois was a huge underdog in his last showdown against Anthony Joshua. However, ‘AJ’ struggled from the opening bell, with ‘Dynamite’ going on to drop his heavyweight rival four times in total before securing a sensational knockout in the fifth round to retain his IBF title.

Following the blockbuster clash at Wembley, Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh had proposed a date on February 22, with His Excellency targeting the rematch between the two British stars.

In an interview with Boxing News, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, revealed his client will likely return to the ring next summer. “We had a very awkward call with ‘AJ’ and his medical team,” he said. “He wanted to fight in February and basically was told ‘there is no way you can start camp and be 100% for February, physically’.

“There’s nothing major. There’s two or three issues that he had a little bit in camp but also after the fight as well. And they said you need to come back in May-June and he didn’t want to do it. He wanted to fight in February, but unfortunately we kind of had to overrule him on this and say no because we can’t afford not to get this right.”

Following his defeat in September, Joshua has dropped to seventh in the heavyweight rankings. Despite calls to retire, ‘AJ’ has insisted he will not be hanging up the gloves anytime soon and believes he can become a three-time world champion. However, the Brit may have to wait a little longer for his shot at another world title.