Nigerian-British heavyweight prospect Following Daniel Dubois’ incredible comeback to defeat Fabio Wardley in the eleventh round of their all-British match on Saturday in Manchester, Moses Itauma has declared himself prepared to challenge Dubois for the title, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.
After being knocked down twice in the first few rounds, Dubois persevered to defeat Wardley and win the WBO heavyweight title twice at the age of 28. The fight was stopped by referee Howard Foster in the eleventh round.
The triumph marked Dubois’ 22nd stoppage victory in his career and paved the way for an exciting matchup with Itauma, the top-ranked player in both the WBO and WBA.
Itauma had supported his stablemate Wardley to win, but he made it clear what he would do if the outcome went the other way while speaking from ringside on talkSPORT prior to the main event. “I would definitely fight Dubois. He asked, “Come on, do you think I’m going to come on live radio and say no, I won’t fight someone?”
Although committee approval is still pending, WBO president Gustavo Olivieri has already stated that he will formally recommend Itauma as a mandatory challenger. Following confirmation, a choice will be made regarding whether Dubois must confront Itauma next or whether he is allowed to mount a voluntary defense first.
Dubois might not be granted that luxury because he voluntarily challenged Wardley.
Since the former champion had repeatedly been ruled out of meeting his training partner and another fighter mentored by Ben Davison, the Wardley bout had traditionally been seen as the obstacle to any Itauma match.
Although promoter Frank Warren had previously plotted out a different route for Itauma, with a bout in the United States scheduled for the end of the year and a headlining event in London scheduled for August 8, that barrier has now been eliminated. According to their ideas, the 21-year-old might first target one of the four major belts before focusing on Dubois.
Given that neither Anthony Joshua nor Dillian Whyte had previously been able to stop the same opponent, Itauma’s stoppage victory over Jermaine Franklin garnered special attention.
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