Daniel Dubois and Moses Itauma are on a collision course but Fabio Wardley rematch could be next for new WBO champion | Boxing News

Daniel Dubois is on a collision with rising heavyweight star Moses Itauma, but could rematch Fabio Wardley first.

Dubois picked himself up off the canvas twice to hand Wardley a savage stoppage defeat and win the WBO heavyweight world title.

A clause in their contract gives Wardley the option of forcing a rematch with Dubois, which he could activate despite the punishing nature of the loss.

“It’s in the contract. If Fabio wants to do it, he can call it on,” promoter Frank Warren told Sky Sports.

“He was in a tough battle, as was Daniel. They’ve got to rest up now. Forget about boxing for a while.”

He doesn’t know if Wardley will take up that rematch but a second fight, if it were to happen, wouldn’t take place till late on in 2026, maybe even 2027.

“If it happens, it won’t happen till the end of the year. Whatever happens with Daniel, he’ll fight some time I think in November. He needs to recuperate himself. It’ll be the same for Fabio,” Warren said. “It could be next year.

“It was such a tough fight, for both of them, such a tough fight. We’ll see. Time will tell.”

Moses Itauma is a fight that is looming in Dubois’ future. Only 21 years old, Itauma is already the No 1 contender for the WBO championship Dubois now holds.

Even if the rematch happens, with Itauma being a gym-mate of Wardley’s, he is a more natural rival for Dubois.

London’s Dubois is also comparatively young for a heavyweight, 28 years old, and a future fight with Itauma seems inevitable for him. They are on a collision course.

“At some point they will be,” Warren said. “A massive, massive, massive fight,

“But if we start heading towards the end of the year, my concern is that them two would fill Wembley [Stadium] up. We’re not going to be doing a Wembley fight in late November, early December.

“It’s like the fight on Saturday, if that happens next year they’re guys in their prime.”

Wardley’s team have subsequently complained about Dubois’ rough tactics causing cuts and the referee needlessly breaking them up in the closing seconds of the seventh round.

But Warren, who promotes both Wardley and Dubois, sees little merit in those claims.

“They were tired and they were falling in on each other as well,” Warren said. “They’re two big aggressive fighters. This is boxing, this is heavyweight boxing.

“The one person who hasn’t complained is Fabio,” he noted. “He started off really well. The third round was a great round for him, but after that Daniel with his jab, which I thought was the key element to the fight, his jab and his distance and his footwork, he was winning the rounds.

“It was excellent and I don’t want to mar it by coming out with excuses for anyone. A tough, tough, tough fight for both of them. Two magnificent performances and two magnificent athletes.”