The International Boxing Federation (IBF) has formally mandated that negotiations commence for a heavyweight championship bout between Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KO) and Derek Chisora (36-13, 23 KO). The parties have been given until May 22nd to reach an agreement regarding this potential fight.
While Chisora is the designated mandatory challenger for the IBF title, this fight is widely considered unlikely to take place in the immediate future. Dubois is currently focused on a significant unification clash against the unified WBA, WBO, and WBC heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk. It is anticipated that representatives for the IBF champion will soon submit a request to postpone his mandatory defense against Chisora in order to pursue the Usyk bout.
The highly anticipated Dubois vs. Usyk unification fight is reportedly scheduled for July 12th. This major boxing event is expected to be held at Wembley Stadium in London and will serve as a rematch of their previous encounter two years ago, which saw the Ukrainian champion secure a victory by knockout.
