DANIEL DUBOIS' rematch with Anthony Joshua has been plunged into doubt. That is because the IBF world champion received the green light to defend his title against another British rival. Dubois , 27, smashed AJ with a blockbuster performance at Wembley in September.
Dynamite put Joshua down on the canvas four times on his way to a brutal fifth-round knockout to defend the IBF crown. A rematch was initially set to be pencilled in for Saudi Arabia in February. However, that may now be off the cards because of a ruling from IBF chiefs.
READ MORE ON BOXING IBF President Caryl Peoples confirmed Dubois "can make an optional defence against any ranked fighter before April 22, 2025". That came after he was quizzed about a possible showdown between Dubois and Fabio Wardley. Wardley, 29, has thrown himself into contention following his thrilling first-round knockout of Frazer Clarke this month.
That propelled him up to No12 in the IBF rankings - just behind the likes of AJ, Derek Chisora and Otto Wallin. Most read in Boxing CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS And he is desperate for a shot at one of the biggest belts in boxing. The Suffolk star said: "It needs to be a level of smartness going into this now about how we pick my next opponent, who they are, how they're ranked, how that fight and that win would set me up going forward.
"Obviously hoping to get some sort of eliminator, world title shot, something along those lines. "So yeah, it's going to be a bit more of a strateg.
