Daniel Dubois emerged from his war with Fabio Wardley with another world title and a very genuine claim to being the best heavyweight in the country.
Wardley dropped the challenger in the opening 10 seconds of the first round and again in the third in Manchester on Saturday night but was left a beaten, bloody mess when the fight was mercifully stopped by the referee.
It was another devastating performance from Dubois, the new WBO champion, who beat Filip Hrgovic to a pulp in similarly brutal fashion two years ago. The same year, Anthony Joshua was left on the canvas four times against the Londoner who has now firmly silenced anyone questioning his heart in the ring.
Dubois has twice fought Oleksandr Usyk, coming up short on both occasions. The Ukrainian is still in possession of the WBC, WBA and IBF world titles, setting up the possibility of another undisputed showdown with ‘Triple D.’
But the prospect of a trilogy fight appears slim. Daniel’s father Stan who has overseen his son’s career from the start cast doubt on it this week with Mohammad Ali, head of performance for Team Dubois, also suggesting it is unlikely.
But becoming undisputed remains the goal.
‘Daniel will be undisputed champion of the world,’ Ali told Metro. ‘That’s where he is going and that is the project. How we go about this depends on whether Usyk is still around in a few years, if so it will be him. If not, there are other fighters who will be challenging for the belts. Daniel will keep getting better.
‘I don’t think the [trilogy] fight [against Usyk] happens right now, it’s not on our agenda.’
All roads lead to Moses Itauma
The path towards undisputed will surely leave him on collision course with Moses Itauma. The prodigious 21-year-old from Kent has left a trail of devastation behind him after 14 fights and will return to the ring in August. Promoter Frank Warren has promised a world title shot before the end of the year if he is victorious.
He and Dubois share a promoter in Warren with the two giants of British boxing in a position to now dominate the division with the old guard of Fury, Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk approaching the end of the road.
Dubois vs Itauma has the potential to be British boxing’s next great rivalry but there will be the temptation to let it marinate a little longer and allow both men to continue on their own paths for now with Ali predicting it will happen within two years.
Before then, the winner of Joshua and Fury is an option for Dubois along with Deontay Wilder with ‘The Bronze Bomber’ back to winning ways after victory over Derek Chisora.
‘Dubois vs Itauma, that’s the road everything is leading to,’ he said. ‘They are on two journeys at the minute a bit like Fury and Joshua have been. I don’t think this fight takes too long to make, knowing Daniel he will just want to fight. And same with Moses, he seems the type of guy who just wants to get it on.
‘Daniel is just 28, Moses is 21. It might be another two years but by then Itauma may have won a belt, it could even be for undisputed.
Dubois beats Tyson Fury ‘inside three rounds’
‘I think Daniel will fight again before the end of the year. There are names out there. Deontay Wilder would be a good option to crack the American market. I believe that is a good fight, a good style fight.
‘He could fight the winner of Joshua vs Fury, maybe a belt is on the line in that fight and that way we get Fury vs Dubois or Joshua vs Dubois II.
‘Fighters like Joshua and Fury, and Usyk too, they are coming to the end and Daniel is the new era. So is Itauma. So we will see the fighters of the older generation getting beaten by these guys.
‘I don’t think Tyson Fury would survive three rounds with Dubois. The way Dan fights, I don’t see it. With Joshua, it ends the same way. If he beats Fury he will be very confident but the same thing happens again Daniel.’
Wardley wise to avoid rematch
Wardley showed extraordinary resolve on Saturday night having enjoyed a meteoric rise through the heavyweight ranks.
His style and his story made him a much-welcomed addition to heavyweight boxing’s top table. But the damage inflicted means he could be set for a spell on the sidelines to recover. While there is a rematch clause, Ali is not convinced it happens.
‘I think Fabio took serious damage that will be worse if he takes the rematch,’ Ali said.
‘There’s no point for me, because it will only get worse for him. It will end in maybe three rounds. He doesn’t have enough power to take Daniel out.’