Dubois v Wardley? IBF Gives Champion Permission For ‘Optional Defense’

IBF world champion Daniel Dubois could next face British rival Fabio Wardley after the sanctioning body provided permission for ‘Dynamite’ to make an optional title defense.
That is according to a report from Sky Sports, who claim a February rematch between Dubois (22-2-0 21 KO) and Anthony Joshua (28-4-0 25 KO) appears increasingly unlikely, with AJ requiring more time to be ready.
Dubois crushed Joshua in spectacular fashion at Wembley Stadium in London last month, sending the former unified world champion to the canvas four times on his way to a fifth-round knockout victory.
The IBF is notoriously the strictest of the four major sanctioning bodies when it comes to enforcing its champions to fulfill mandatory duties, frequently stripping high-profile fighters – including recently Canelo Alvarez and Oleksandr Usyk – of belts for not facing their top-ranked challengers.
IBF President Daryl Peoples revealed Dubois “can make an optional defense against any ranked fighter before April 22” when he was asked about a fight between the heavyweight champion and Wardley, who holds the British and Commonwealth titles.
At present, the IBF rankings do not have a mandatory challenger, nor a fighter ranked in the No 2 position. Instead, third-ranked Agit Kabayel and No 4 Martin Bakole are being lined up to fight in a title eliminator, meaning the winner will claim a mandatory position.
That leaves Dubois in a position to choose his next opponent, so long as the fight takes place before April 22, and Sky Sports believe talks have begun for ‘Dynamite’ to face Wardley.
Wardley (18-0-1 17 KO) has propelled himself up the IBF rankings following his savage first-round knockout win over rival Frazer Clarke earlier this month in the co-main event to the undisputed light-heavyweight bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dimitry Bivol in Saudi Arabia.
The victory came seven months after the British fighters fought to a thrilling and deserved draw in London, but the rematch left no more questions to be answered, with Wardley claiming a brutal stoppage that left Clarke with a fractured skull and broken jaw.
Should the fight be agreed, it would represent a massive step up for Wardley, who remains a relative boxing novice; he entered the pro ranks following a couple of white-collar bouts and while he has looked impressive in his career so far, his best opponents have been domestic level.
Dubois, meanwhile, has been operating at the top-tier of the heavyweight division for the past couple of years, providing a decent test to reigning unified champion Oleksandr Usyk in August 2023 and putting in fine performances to defeat the likes of Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic. Doubts about how he would handle the pressure of 90,000-plus fans inside England’s national soccer stadium against Joshua were emphatically answered.
Speaking recently, Wardley admitted that he and his team would need to pick his next opponent carefully, aware that he needs to make the next step up while not biting off more than he can chew.
“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,” he said.
“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 strategic one.”
Both Dubois and Wardley are represented by Frank Warren, who insisted the IBF champion will fight again in February whether it’s against Joshua or someone else.
“He is the champion and it’ll be done on his terms,” Warren told Sky Sports. “Daniel will defend his title in February and if it’s not Joshua then it’ll be against somebody who is ranked in the top five.”