Dubois and Wardley next fights: Itauma, Usyk, rematch in play

Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley landed themselves in a heavyweight crossroads after their Manchester war Saturday, with the newly crowned WBO titleholder now fielding mandatory obligations, rematch clauses, and unification talk all at once.

Promoter Frank Warren told The Ring that both men deserve rest before plotting next moves, but the Co-op Live Arena result scrambled the division's pecking order too much to sit still. Dubois holds a contracted rematch option with Wardley, yet 21-year-old Moses Itauma is set to be named WBO mandatory challenger. That creates a three-way logjam Warren will have to untangle, especially given Itauma and Wardley share a gym in Ipswich — a pairing Wardley called "an impossibility" days before the fight.

Usyk unification could trump WBO mandatory demand

Oleksandr Usyk threw another wrench into the schedule when he told Inside The Ring he wants the Dubois-Wardley winner after facing Rico Verhoeven in Egypt this month. A unification between Usyk's Ring, IBF, WBC, and WBA straps and Dubois' WBO belt would typically override a mandatory, but Usyk has already stopped Dubois twice. Appetite for a third meeting remains low despite Dubois' career-best showing against Wardley.

Should Wardley opt against the immediate rematch and the WBO grant Dubois a voluntary, The Ring column floated matchups with a faded Deontay Wilder at the O2 or a revenge bout with 40-year-old Joe Joyce, who handed Dubois his first loss in 2020. Wardley, meanwhile, could rebuild against France's Tony Yoka or chase the WBA regular belt held by Murat Gassiev, who wants to fight in England and watch Premier League football.

Dubois defends his WBO strap with Itauma, Wardley, and Usyk all circling. The sanctioning body's ruling on the mandatory timeline will dictate whether he gets the breathing room Warren says both fighters earned.

Source: ringmagazine.com