Heavyweight Boxing Enters a New Era Following Dubois and Major Title Changes

Daniel Dubois has strengthened his spot among the heavyweight elite by stopping Fabio Wardley in two rounds at London's O2 Arena to retain his title. Dubois has now won 13 of his 24 fights inside two rounds.

Potential Fights

Filip Hrgovic entered the ring after the bout to push for a rematch, having previously been stopped by Dubois. However, promoter Frank Warren is working on Hrgovic making his first defence in Croatia early next year against Frank Sanchez, which could delay a Dubois rematch. Meanwhile, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are scheduled to meet at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on 11 December in a Netflix-streamed bout with about 80,000 tickets selling out within an hour. The winner could face Dubois for a unification fight, though WBA 'regular' champion Murat Gassiev has called for the winner to face him instead.

Other Contenders

Agit Kabayel is set to make his first defence as WBC champion against Nelson Hysa on 28 November. Oleksandr Usyk vacated his WBA, WBC and IBF titles in June and plans one final contest before retirement. Dutch fighter Rico Verhoeven wants a rematch with Usyk after an 11th-round stoppage defeat and has accepted an offer to face Deontay Wilder on the Fury-Joshua undercard, though Wilder has not yet agreed.

Context

Heavyweight boxing is undergoing a major shift as older stars near retirement and new champions vie for the division's top belts. Title unifications are rare and take extensive negotiation between different boxing organizations and promoters.