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”.

Deontay Wilder Makes Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 Prediction…

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.

It’s amazing how one fight can change the entire trajectory of a fighter’s career. For Daniel Dubois, the destructive fifth-round knockout of Anthony Joshua in September will, in all probability, lead to a shot at the undisputed heavyweight title in 2025. A huge moment for a fighter who has, arguably, been underappreciated by British fans to this point.

As for Joshua, dreams of a record-breaking clash with Tyson Fury appear to be over. He may well fight the Gypsy King next year, but it’s possible that neither will hold a belt at the time while both will have multiple defeats on their CVs… rather derailing the hype machine that would have powered a domestic fight for the ages along had it happened a year ago or more.
The heavyweight landscape has changed beyond all recognition in 2024. So what awaits its key protagonists next year?

What Lies Ahead for Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua?

No Rematch

It was presumed that Dubois vs Joshua II would take place in February, however, that idea has now been canned.

AJ has, according to reports, suffered a bicep injury that would keep him from having a full camp ahead of what would, in reality, be an all-or-nothing fight for him.

And Frank Warren, Dubois’ promoter, has also confirmed that the pair won’t rematch in February as previously planned but admits he has spoken to ‘a few other guys’ in a bid to land a February 22 scrap for his IBF champion.

The IBF themselves have allowed Dubois to make an optional defence of his gold against any of their top-ranked fighters, which would open the door for the likes of the unbeaten Agit Kabayel and Martin Bakole.  

The challenge for Warren is that neither Kabayel nor Bakole are box office-level opponents, with Dubois likely to return to Wembley Stadium for his next outing. A domestic dust-up with Fabio Wardley would be more fitting but the likelyopponent for the champion’s February fight appears to be Joseph Parker.

The Kiwi has reignited his career with victories over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang, and his higher standing in the eyes of domestic fight fans – he’s taken on the likes of Joshua and Dillian Whyte on British soil – will likely see him given the nod.

If Dubois can defeat Parker or whoever his opponent will be on February 22, he will look to an undisputed showdown with either Oleksandr Usyk or Fury in the summer of 2025.

No Going Back

Typically, betting markets are an excellent predictor of what might happen in a fight; there’s the occasional Buster Douglas or Hasim Rahman to upset the applecart, but for the most part, these are accurate estimators of what will unfold.

Betting odds for upcoming boxing fights can be translated into implied probabilities too, and in the case of Usyk vs Fury II, the analysts are giving the Ukrainian champion a 62% chance of once again defeating the Gypsy King.

Should Usyk prevail, he would set up a blockbuster rematch with Dubois. They first fought in August 2023, with the Ukrainian impressively stopping the Brit in the ninth round.

However, it was a bout that was not without positivity for Dubois, who landed a crunching ‘body’ shot in the fifth round that left Usyk crumpled on the canvas. It was adjudged to have been a low blow – a ruling that split pundits down the middle, but if nothing else it was a reminder of the dynamite power that Dubois possesses.

A victory for Usyk would also prove damning to the career of Fury, whose days as an elite heavyweight may well be considered over if he suffers a second loss to the Ukrainian.

But every cloud and all that… because a loss in December would likely open the door to Fury vs Joshua in 2025.

It would, like Pacquiao vs Mayweather all those years ago, be a dream fight that comes years too late, both in a sporting and commercial context. But it would certainly put plenty of bums on seats, and finally put an end to the verbal jousting between the pair.

At the ages of 35 and 36 respectively, time is running out for Joshua vs Fury to be made in any meaningful way. Eddie Hearn has insinuated that if it doesn’t happen in 2025, it never will.

For Joshua in particular, the time is now. He owes nobody anything after a stellar career, but his last three fights against elite opposition – Usyk (twice) and Dubois – have all ended in defeat. He is very much in the last chance saloon.

In a bizarre twist of fate, defeat to Usyk wouldn’t necessarily be the end of the world for Fury, either. He would get his shot at Joshua at last… before being able to sail off into the sunset, to reflect on a fantastic career.

The anticipated rematch between Anthony Joshua and IBF world champion Daniel Dubois has been put on hold till 2026.

Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren confirmed the development during an appearance on talkSPORT, stating that Joshua would be “out of the picture” for a while due to mandatory challenger obligations.

“First of all, the fight Daniel had against AJ was his mandatory, so he is allowed a period of time, which means he can fight in February and he’s allowed up until April or May (to make a voluntary defence),” Warren said.

He continued, “And then whoever the mandatory is, that is who it will be (for the fight after). It won’t be AJ because he can’t get himself into a mandatory position because they have called for the next two guys to fight each other (Kabayel and Bakole).”

Joshua, who has earned over $200 million in his career, including $75 million from fights in 2024 alone, is still nursing injuries from his fifth-round knockout loss to Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September.

The British-Nigerian’s promoter Eddie Hearn hinted at a summer return for the 35-year-old, who has one fight remaining on his Riyadh Season contract.

Meanwhile, Dubois, 27, is expected to return to the ring in February before facing the winner of an eliminator bout between Martin Bakole and Agit Kabayel in the second half of 2025.

The delay in the rematch means both fighters will likely face different opponents before any potential second encounter, with negotiations between both camps already stalled.

Anthony Joshua’s next bout remains undecided, but promoter Eddie Hearn has hinted at two intriguing options: a rematch with Daniel Dubois or a blockbuster clash with Tyson Fury.

Joshua is currently recovering from injuries sustained in his recent fight against Dubois, which has delayed any plans for a rematch. Despite earlier discussions about an immediate return to the ring in February, Hearn confirmed that Joshua won’t be ready in time for Dubois’ title defense on February 22.

“The only two fights I see for Joshua are against Daniel Dubois or Tyson Fury,” Hearn told Ariel Helwani. “He wanted to go in February, but he wouldn’t have been at 100 per cent. He’s still dealing with minor issues from his last fight and needs time to start training camp.”

Joshua’s team is now eyeing a comeback in May or June, with Dubois as a possible opponent. However, a long-anticipated clash with Tyson Fury remains an enticing alternative, especially if Fury wins his December 21 bout against Oleksandr Usyk.

“Win or lose for Fury, it’ll be difficult to walk away from that matchup,” Hearn added. “If Fury wins, he could defend his unified championship against AJ. If he loses, it’d still be an iconic final showdown for both fighters. I’d love to see Fury win and stay champion because that’s what AJ wants—a shot at becoming a three-time heavyweight world champion.”

Hearn emphasised that a Fury vs Joshua fight would be a monumental event, eagerly awaited by boxing fans worldwide. Regardless of Fury’s result against Usyk, a matchup between the two British heavyweights would undoubtedly be a high-profile spectacle.

While Joshua’s next opponent remains uncertain, one thing is clear: he is focused on returning stronger and reclaiming his place among the world’s top heavyweights.