Dubois Stops Wardley in Two Rounds as New Heavyweight Era Opens — SkimNews
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- Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley in two rounds at London's O2 Arena on Saturday, retaining his title in a performance the article describes as far more emphatic than their first meeting in May.
- Filip Hrgovic entered the ring after the bout to push for a rematch with Dubois, having rebuilt to claim the vacant IBF title by beating Moses Itauma in August; promoter Frank Warren says Hrgovic's first defense will likely happen in Croatia early next year.
- Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are set to meet at Cardiff's Principality Stadium in the early hours of 12 December, with the WBA 'super' title vacant and roughly 80,000 tickets selling out within an hour for the Netflix-streamed card; both fighters are reportedly set to earn close to $100m (£75m).
- Agit Kabayel, elevated to WBC champion when Usyk vacated, is unbeaten with stoppage wins over Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang, and makes his first defense against Albania's Nelson Hysa on 28 November.
- Oleksandr Usyk vacated his WBA, WBC and IBF titles in June and has indicated he wants one final fight before retirement, having defeated former kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in May; a third meeting with Fury has been mooted but negotiations have reportedly stalled.
- Moses Itauma, 21, is expected to return in January after his first professional loss to Hrgovic, with Warren promising credible opposition rather than a straightforward confidence-building contest.
- The article notes Usyk, Fury and Joshua are all approaching career ends, opening a new era where Derek Chisora (42) is even weighing another comeback, while prospects like Bakhodir Jalolov, Teremoana Teremoana and Joseph Parker rebuild or extend their records.
Why it matters: With Usyk, Fury and Joshua all nearing retirement, Dubois' emphatic win establishes him as the most bankable active heavyweight, but the source warns the bigger challenge is getting the new cluster of champions—Hrgovic, Kabayel and the Fury-Joshua winner—to actually fight each other before mandatory obligations, rematches and boxing politics get in the way.
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