Daniel Dubois, the IBF heavyweight champion, has expressed his readiness to fight former champion Wladimir Klitschko. The 27-year-old British boxer conveyed to Sky Sports that he would consider taking on the 48-year-old Ukrainian if the terms were agreeable.
Dubois has been on an impressive streak recently. He knocked out Anthony Joshua in September, which solidified his status as the IBF champion. Prior to this, he defeated Fillip Hrgovic in June to claim the full IBF championship. Six months earlier, he became the first fighter to stop Jarrell Miller.
When questioned about the possibility of a bout with Klitschko, Dubois remarked, “This is that era now where anything can happen in boxing. I think there was a bit of talk about that before, but he obviously didn’t fancy it. ‘Do I want Daniel on my case? This young lion hunting me down, nah’.”
He further added, “Guys like that can come out of retirement. Look, Mike Tyson had an exhibition fight the other day. It’s all to play for. It’s good. If all the terms are right then, yeah, let’s fight.”
Klitschko, who hung up his gloves after a loss to Tyson Fury, boasts victories over David Haye and Alexandr Povetkin in his career. There’s speculation he might return to the ring to attempt to break George Foreman’s record as the oldest heavyweight champion, a title Foreman won at 45.
Klitschko might also be eyeing a rematch with Tyson Fury if Fury manages to defeat Oleksandr Usyk this month.
In the meantime, Dubois has other plans. He’s scheduled to defend his IBF title against Joseph Parker on February 22. Parker, a former WBO champion, recently secured victories over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.
The heavyweight division is becoming increasingly intriguing. With retired champions contemplating comebacks and young fighters like Dubois rising to prominence, we could witness some unexpected showdowns between different boxing generations.
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