Daniel Dubois won the WBO heavyweight world title this weekend, surviving two early knockdowns to beat the fight out of Fabio Wardley.
The main event thriller is an early contender for fight of the year, with both men giving all that they had to put on a show for the fans in Manchester.
When referee Howard Foster stepped in to stop the action in the eleventh round, Dubois became a two-time heavyweight champion at the age of 28, and will now look to hold on to the belt longer than his last reign, which lasted just one successful defence.
To do so, he must fight off a new generation of contenders, with young sensation Moses Itauma currently ranked number one.
Speaking on TalkSPORT from ringside before the main event, Itauma predicted that his stablemate Wardley would win, but was clear that, if the fight went the other way, he would step in with Dubois for the title.
“100% [I’d fight Dubois]. Come on, do you think I’m gonna come on live radio and say no, I won’t fight someone?”
Of course, that is what unfolded, with Dubois showing a resilience and discipline many felt he didn’t have to score the 22nd stoppage win of his career.
WBO President, Gustavo Olivieri, recently made it clear that he has put forward Itauma as mandatory challenger, with committee approval pending. It will then be decided whether Dubois will be ordered to face him next or permitted a voluntary defence, though given his own challenge was voluntary, he may not be granted that luxury.
Frank Warren, who promotes both men, recently mapped out the rest of Itauma’s 2026, with a London headliner on August 8 and a fight in the US towards the end of the year. Those plans, if set in stone, suggest the young Brit is targeting another one of the four major belts before meeting Dubois.
