Daniel Dubois is potentially looking at his next in-ring assignment after losing his hold on the IBF heavyweight championship in his last outing. What seems to be his next bout will put him in prime position to contend for that crown again though as Dubois will take on Frank Sanchez in a looming IBF title eliminator bout. This consequential contest came about after several key heavyweights turned down offers from the IBF to take on this Sanchez boxing bout.
Some of those names who were said to have said "no" to that opportunity include Moses Itauma, Filip Hrgovic, and Efe Ajagba. The deal deadline is October 22nd to see if the confirmation is official for the high stakes bout.
Oleksandr Usyk currently holds the IBF crown and captured that from Dubois himself with an emphatic knockout during their July rematch. Dubois' booking in this bout makes sense because of his proximity to the belt but some have scratched their head with Sanchez being in this position. His last outing came against a .500 journeyman caliber boxer with Sanchez last truly testing himself against Agit Kabayel last year which saw him sustain a noticeable beating.
Daniel Dubois' path back to the IBF strap
Daniel Dubois has changed up his coaching dynamics leading into this targeted bounce back bout as he is no longer under the pugilistic purview of Don Charles. Some wonder how things will play out with this looming bout and Oleksandr Usyk's current career plans. It seems like the Ukrainian standout is more focused on big money matchups as he enters the twilight of his career. In that sense, the idea that he could vacate one of his multiple heavyweight crowns to pursue a bigger name fight instead of fighting one of his mandatory contenders could lead to the IBF throne being opened up.
The idea of a third Usyk vs. Dubois fight would presumably not be of interest to the former as there was some controversy in the first fight but Oleksandr Usyk won so emphatically in the sequel clash that a trilogy bout seems quite unlikely when factored into this broader context.
