Daniel Dubois is now on the clock for his next mandatory title defense.
There remains plenty of wiggle room, however, to secure the matchup he truly covets.
BoxingScene has confirmed that the IBF has formally instructed London’s Dubois, 22-2 (21 KOs), sato enter talks with countryman Derek Chisora, 36-13 (23 KOs). The two sides have 30 days - through May 22 – to reach a deal and avoid a purse bid hearing.
Chisora is not as protected as other mandatory challengers in this situation, however.
Dubois can still pursue a more coveted showdown with lineal, RING, WBA, WBC and WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk, 23-0 (14 KOs).
“Unification takes precedence over mandatory and he has until we order the purse bid to advise that he is seeking to unify,” an IBF spokesperson confirmed to BoxingScene.
Dubois and Chisora are both with Queensberry Promotions.
Dubois has won three in a row since an August 2023 knockout defeat to Usyk in Wroclaw, Poland. The bout was mired in controversy, stemming from a fifth-round sequence where Dubois contended that he was cheated out of a knockdown call. A body shot that appeared to hit the beltline was ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon.
Ukraine’s Usyk made full use of the allotted five-minute recovery period, which squandered any momentum gained by Dubois. Usyk twice floored Dubois, the latter which produced a full ten-count for a ninth-round knockout win to defend his RING, WBA, IBF and WBO titles.
Nine months later, Usyk became the first fully unified heavyweight champion of the 21st century in an historic split decision win over Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their May 18 battle of unbeaten heavyweight kings saw Usyk add the lineal crown and WBC title to his collection.
Dubois re-entered the title picture two weeks later, in an eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic. Their June 1 meeting came with the interim IBF belt at stake. Dubois was upgraded to full titlist when Usyk agreed to relinquish the belt last summer.
The lone defense of the crown thus far saw Dubois tear through former two-time unified titlist Anthony Joshua in a fifth-round knockout last September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London. The win was his third in a nine-month span.
Usyk went on to earn a repeat win over Fury last December 21 to retain his unified championship. It marked the starting point for Usyk-Dubois II, though not without its hiccups.
Chisora entered the title mix by default after a February 8 decision win over Otto Wallin at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. The former title challenger advanced to the number two slot in the IBF rankings.
Dubois was due to face former WBO titlist Joseph Parker, 36-3 (24 KOs), two weeks later in Riyadh. The fight fell through at the eleventh hour when Dubois fell ill late into fight week.
It worked to Parker’s advantage; he was prepared to give up his interim WBO title – and with it, a mandatory position for Usyk’s full version of the belt – with the fight. Because of the fallout, he was not only permitted to retain the secondary title, but was afforded a fight with late replacement Martin Bakole, whom he annihilated inside of two rounds on the February 22 Riyadh Season show.
Usyk was since ordered to next face Parker, though – as previously reported by BoxingScene – an appeal was filed with the WBO to next face Dubois in a more coveted rematch. The WBO Championship Committee is still reviewing the matter and has yet to make a ruling.
Chances are, no decision will be made until Usyk and Dubois can find enough common ground in current talks to convince the sanctioning bodies that their rematch will move forward.
Dubois has until May 22 to make that happen and not have to worry about next steps with the IBF.
Less certain is where that would leave Parker and Chisora.
Parker already owns a pair of wins over Chisora, though both of their 2021 meetings were close on the final cards. Their May 2021 affair saw Parker survive an opening round knockdown to take a split decision. He won more convincingly in their December 2021 rematch, though Chisora survived three official knockdowns to narrow the gap in their entertaining affair.
Amazingly, a third fight would make more sense in present day than at any other point over the past four years. Chisora is 4-1 since their rematch, the lone loss a tenth-round stoppage to Fury in their December 2022 trilogy clash. Wins over Gerald Washington, Joe Joyce and Wallin have left Chisora poised for one more title shot in what would be the 50th fight of his wild career.
Parker suffered a September 2022 knockout loss to Joyce but has since won six in a row. The last four have come on the Riyadh Season circuit, where he and Dubois have remarkably turned around their respective careers.
For now, Dubois is the one with the most options from which to choose – even while at the mercy of one sanctioning body.
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